We are asked almost every day why we do what we do at Clap Your Hands; so we thought we would address them here on the blog.
How can I order one of your products? We work directly with your child’s licensed therapist – teacher – pediatrician. We are not medical professionals and we don’t know your child….we must depend on our medical/educational professionals to guide us into making the best products for YOUR child.
You can email us: claphands123@gmail.com
*The child/family must live within the Tri-County and have a medical diagnosis.
I am a therapist who works in (any state or Country), can I place an order? We donate in the counties of Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester in South Carolina. CYH’s is a small group of volunteers and we are on a very tight budget. The needs are great within our own community, but we do have some simple step by step instructions on our Facebook page – under photo albums.
How heavy do you make the weighted blankets? As a general rule the blankets are 10% of the child’s body weight. It may be a little less or a little more depending what the therapists tell us. We also take into consideration the child’s other medical issues. e.g.: If the child weighs 50 pounds we would make the blanket 5 to 6 pounds.
Should everyone have a weighted blanket? No, weighted blankets usually work best with children who have Autism, ADHD, Asperger’s, Sensory processing disorders. You do not want to give a weighted blanket to a child with medical issues with breathing difficulties, feeding tubes, or recent surgeries. Final decision should be made by your child’s medical professional.
Can we request certain materials, such as superheroes or cartoons? You can request them, but a lot depends on our current stock. We do our best to keep the latest children’s fabrics available, but we can’t guarantee them. The only exceptions we make are for children who need a plain color due to sensory issues.
At what age can our child receive your products? 0 to 18 years old. Depending on the weight of the child we may only be able to go up to a certain weight limit -due to the size of our sewing machines. We can make an oversized upper torso pad for them.
How long will it take to receive your products? After we receive the order we place them in our “book”. It’s first come first serve. At the present time we have a small waiting list, but we keep your therapist informed of where they are on the list and it is usually within the month.
How much do your products cost? All of our products are FREE of charge to the families, therapists, and schools. We do however always accept donations. We have a “go fund me: account, or you can mail a gift card or check to our post office box. Please feel free to view under DONATIONS on our site.
What are your blankets filled with? We use Poly Pellets to fill out blankets, lap & neck pads and sensory pads. Poly Pellets are non-allergenic and washable. We use rice to fill the bags for our weighted vests. All rice bags must be taken out of the vest pockets before washing.
I would like to help in some way but I’m not very good at sewing? We have all levels of seamstresses. I only learned 2 years ago myself. If you can sew a straight line, you can help. We also have a group who knit and crochet for us. They make our fingerless gloves and ponchos.
How does the weight of the blankets/lap pads/vests help? The weight “grounds” the child…helping them feel more secure – gives them balance in their bodies. The weight has the same effect as a tight hug or swaddling a baby. The weight has a calming effect on them, and lets them rest, focus and even pay attention during class time. We have heard from the families who say their children are now sleeping all night or only getting up 1 or 2 times a night where they use to be restless and up a lot. The teachers are telling us the children are now staying seated during classroom time and focusing on instructions that are given to them. Lap pads are left in the classroom or car to help during stressful situations that may come up.
