New Effort Produces Weighted Blankets for Autistic Children

Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-day series on autism in the greater Lewis County area.

ROCHESTER — After about six and a half years of sleepless nights spent up dealing with her son’s autism, a Rochester mother is finally getting a good night’s rest. Now, Robin Clark is working to help other mothers in Lewis County find that same relief.

Clark’s 7-year-old son, Logan, has the brain-based disorder that causes difficulties in social interactions, communication, certain behaviors and disrupts sleep. 

The mother of three learned that weighted blankets can help autistic children relax as the increased pressure on the joints causes the brain to release the brain chemicals serotonin and melatonin, which naturally calm the body, making it easier to sleep. But when she went online to find one for Logan, she found just a small blanket costs $400.

So Clark, who just learned to sew as a hobby after getting a sewing machine last year at Christmas, went to work to make one of her own. 

“I have no idea how to even read a pattern,” Clark said. “I just figure out how to do it.”

She sewed some weighted pellets, usually used for doll-making, into a blanket for Logan and another for just $50.

“Since he started using his blanket, oh my gosh, it’s like a miracle,” Clark said. “When he starts having what we autism moms call a meltdown, he wraps in his blanket and it calms him down.”

That’s when Clark, along with Kirsten Klein of Chehalis, and about 15 other volunteers decided to start a nonprofit to produce the weighted blankets to donate to other area children with autism. 

“What about all these children in Lewis County that are low-income?” Clark said she asked herself. “The idea just took off.”

The two-week-old Logan Project has already resulted in seven new weighted blankets. Now, the organization will hold weekly sew-a-tons to produce more blankets, which each take between eight and 12 hours to finish.

The group makes the blankets based on the child’s weight and finds families to donate to through area pediatricians. 

“You make it big enough they can grow into it but not too heavy,” Clark explained. “When they’re wrapped in this blanket, it cradles them and makes them feel secure.”

The group also takes the child’s likes and any sensory issues, which are common in people with autism, into account in order to make the blanket as personalized as possible.

With autism now affecting one in 88 children and one in 54 boys nationwide, an increasing number of parents are finding themselves in the same position Clark did. And insurance doesn’t cover many of the treatments necessary to address the disorder, including things like weighted blankets.

“It’s a simple fix,” Clark said. “But a ton of people just can’t afford it.”

In the three weeks since Logan started using his weighted blanket, Clark said, he sleeps through the night and even into the morning for the first time ever. Additionally, she said, Logan’s behavior has improved both at home and at school. 

“It’s amazing what going from sleep deprived to having some energy will do for a person,” she said. “When he starts melting down, he wraps up and it defuses him.” 

And as for Project Logan, Clark said, she plans to go as far as donations will let her.

“I would like to provide a blanket for all local children that need it,” she said.

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Amy Nile: (360) 807-8235

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