The little guy spends a whole lot of time indoors, especially in the winter time. He's pretty temperature sensitive; he overheats really easily and wilts in rainy weather, so we have to be careful about the time he spends outside. A lot of winter indoor activities, like visiting museums or public indoor play areas, tend to be overwhelming for him after short periods, so we have to limit our time there. The little guy also spends a lot of time sick, and the recovery process-- when he has a little bit of energy and wants to play but isn't well enough for school yet-- usually takes days.
Also Connor seems to really enjoy swinging. He craves a lot of vestibular stimulation, and we've even discovered that he's more likely to touch unfamiliar objects (which his sensory processing disorder normally makes him avoid like the plague) if he's on a swing that's gently moving when they're presented to him. So we felt like it could be really beneficial for him to have a swing in his room.
The great thing about this setup is that we can take the swing down really easily and replace it with a different kind! And it can also be safely stored away if we have typical kids over who would rough-house on it. We're getting a gymnastics crash pad to go underneath the swing (which will come in handy for home physical therapy too), and Connor can't make it go himself so there's no chance of him getting overzealous and hitting anything.
I think the next cold, rainy winter will be a lot more fun for Connor with his new swing!
~Jess
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4 comments:
I love the swing! I bet Connor will have a lot of fun in that swing. What a great place to relax, have fun and get vestibular stimulation all at once!
Was wondering if you could post how you have it mounted in the ceiling. We have a Wingbo for Emma and I have it mounted in the doorway but we are looking to move and I want to mount a swing in her future bedroom....if it all comes together. Would love to see how you have this mounted in the ceiling.
I want one and I don't even think I need vestibular stimulation. Just some place to hide from the rest of the family with a good book.
Who doesn't like a swing?
One of the home renovation shows put a swing in a child's room. They located the rafter boards in the ceiling and put a couple of lag bolts with eyes through them. Then they tied off the rope through the eyes that were on the ceiling side. I think you would have to have access to the attic above the room though.
very cool swing and one that I've never seen after parenting a child with special needs for over fifteen years! Would you mind posting what type it is and where you got it?
This is the Ikea Ekorre Hammock swing! They don't make them any more, unfortunately, but you can get them on Amazon or Ebay pretty easily. The swing comes with a mounting kit. We've got it screwed into some reenforced jousts in our ceiling, and with the screws used it would probably take about 200 pounds, though Jer and I aren't going to try it out!
We also have a platform swing and plan to get several more swings that we can switch out depending on what play or therapy we're doing. Fun!
~Jess
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