Magic Coat

After being rejected by insurance twice, we finally just broke down and paid for the SPIO suit. We got the vest and short pants.

Wow, that's all I can say. Wow.
He calls it "the coat". Hey, the helmet was the "hat". Sure thing buddy, this can be The Coat.

Cole's therapist suggested it at the beginning of the summer. She then brought one to a session about a month later. He only had it on for an hour, and we could not keep it longer, but I could tell a difference. The SPIO (stabilizing pressure input orthosis) is an experimental treatment. It is a compression garment, used mainly for kids with CP, but the therapist said it was worth a shot with Cole's sensory issues. There are light weights sewn into the suit that put pressure on his nervous system in the exact places he needs to calm his over-firing sensory system.The long-anticipated SPIO arrived this weekend. Today was the first day that Cole had it on the entire day. I could tell there was a difference, a MAJOR one. We even went to a friends house for a little over an hour. No meltdowns, no major seizure activity. The last time we were there, we stayed about 10 minutes.

I think that we have had the most calm day that Cole has had in months. I really don't know if it was the SPIO, if it was because we were home without anyone else for the first time in a week, because he actually drank his supplements for the first time in a month, or what exactly was going on. Cole still did some very two year-old things like getting stuck between an arm chair and the wall, dragging my Christmas ribbon all over the place when I was in (wait for it...) the bathroom, and making the house look like a tornado had come to visit; but, there was a lot less hitting, yelling, crying and screaming today.

I am excited to try again tomorrow. I like this non-violent, will-actually-sit-in-my-lap version of Cole. I missed him.