In an article titled “Living Life to the Fullest,” Victoria Remback of the McHenry County Magazine reported on how a local family with an autistic child uses bean bag chairs every day to relax and focus at school and home. Studies have shown that children with autism spectrum disorders can benefit from sensory therapy using bean bags, and parents of autistic children agree. “His brain is always going, and sense is a huge thing for Bryce,” Christine Selof, mother of a 10 year old boy with autism says. “So sitting on a bean bag chair or playing with rubber bands at his desk with his feet help to calm him.”
Her son, Bryce, is lucky to be in a program at his elementary school that recognizes his sensory needs. The Greenwood Elementary School provided Bryce and other children with beanbag chairs to sit on during school to help him focus on his studies. Many elementary schools around the country have recognized the psychological benefits of bean bag furniture for children, and children with autism spectrum disorders can benefit at home as well.
Remback explains in the article that, “When an autistic child goes into a fit because of overstimulation, frustration or anger, soothing techniques such as holding the child tight or swaddling him or her with a blanket helps to calm the child.” One common way to swaddle autistic children is to squish them between two bean bags. This technique provides what psychologists call deep pressure stimulation that calms the child.