ASPERGER’S SYNDROME

The OTvest can help calm, focus, and improve function in those with Asperger's Syndrome

  • The OTvest™ Weighted Sensory Vest

    Calming Deep Pressure Therapy to Support Individuals on the Autism Spectrum (Including Asperger’s)

    The OTvest™ weighted sensory vest provides calming deep pressure therapy to help individuals **on the autism spectrum—including those formerly diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome—**feel more regulated, focused, and comfortable, so they can feel better and do better™ in daily life.

    Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) & Asperger’s Syndrome

    Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how individuals communicate, interact socially, process sensory information, and regulate emotions.

    What was previously diagnosed as Asperger’s syndrome is now considered part of Autism Spectrum Disorder, typically describing individuals who:

    • Have average to above-average intelligence

    • Use spoken language fluently

    • May have strong or highly focused interests

    • Experience challenges with social communication and sensory processing

    Many individuals, families, and professionals continue to use the term Asperger’s to describe this presentation, and it remains widely recognized in educational and clinical contexts.

    How the OTvest™ Can Help Support Regulation in ASD

    Individuals on the autism spectrum—including those with Asperger’s—often experience:

    • Anxiety and emotional dysregulation

    • Sensory overload

      OTvest-Autistic_boy_raindrops_at_window
      The OTvest helps promote self-regulation and calm.

    • Difficulty shifting attention

    • Challenges with body awareness and motor coordination

    The OTvest™ provides deep pressure touch therapy, a form of sensory input that can help calm the nervous system and support self-regulation.

    Deep pressure therapy has been shown to help support the release of neurotransmitters associated with:

    • Calm and emotional regulation (serotonin)

    • Focus and attention (norepinephrine and epinephrine)

    Wearers frequently describe feeling:

    Calmer
    More centered
    Less overwhelmed

    This makes the OTvest™ a practical and discreet school, home, and community intervention for sensory and emotional regulation.

    Sensory Processing Differences in ASD

    Many individuals on the autism spectrum experience sensory processing differences, including:

    • Over- or under-responsiveness to sound, touch, smell, taste, or textures

    • Difficulty coping with changes in routine or environment

      young boy getting a haircut and calmed with the OTvest
      The OTvest can help calm and reduce anxiety in challenging environments.

    • Challenges with motor coordination and body awareness

    The OTvest™ provides consistent proprioceptive input, helping the brain better understand where the body is in space. This added sensory input can help reduce sensory overload and improve organization of movement and attention.

    Deep Pressure Therapy: Research & Historical Context

    In 1944, Dr. Hans Asperger described children who demonstrated:

    • Difficulty with social interaction

    • One-sided communication

    • Intense focus on special interests

    • Motor coordination challenges

    Later, Dr. Temple Grandin—an engineer, professor, and author on the autism spectrum—demonstrated the calming effects of deep pressure therapy through her development of the “hug machine.” Her work showed how deep pressure could help both animals and humans regulate anxiety and arousal.

    Inspired by this work, occupational therapist Nancy VandenBerg developed the OTvest™ in 2002 as a wearable, functional way to deliver deep pressure therapy discreetly and effectively.

    Research-Based OTvest™ Design

    Ms. VandenBerg’s research, published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (2001), demonstrated:

    • 18–25% increases in attention to task

    • 95% statistical probability that the improvement was due to the weighted vest

    These findings led to the development of the patented OTvest™, designed to apply weight directly to sensory receptors for improved effectiveness compared to traditional weighted vests or blankets.

    Why the OTvest™ Is Different

    The OTvest™ is a patented, discreet weighted vest designed for real-world wear.

    Key benefits include:

    • Calming deep pressure applied directly to the body

    • Support for emotional regulation and anxiety reduction

    • Increased proprioceptive input for body awareness and coordination

      young man wearing an OTvest weighted vest or OTvest sensory vest
      A young man wearing an OTvest size large with 4 lb. weight insert

    • Trunk stabilization to support posture and regulation

    • Easy snap closures for independence

    • No loose weight packets to fall out or be handled

    • Dense, thin, lead-free steel weights

    • Effective design requiring less total weight

    • Non-therapeutic appearance suitable for all settings

    • Hygienic and easy to clean

    The OTvest™ can be worn by children, teens, and adults in classrooms, homes, workplaces, and community environments.

    A Gentle, Holistic Sensory Support

    For individuals on the autism spectrum—including those who identify with or were previously diagnosed with Asperger’s—the OTvest™ offers a safe, gentle, and holistic sensory intervention that can support daily regulation, participation, and quality of life.

    Experience the Difference

    registered trademark logo for the OTvestClick here to order the OTvest™ and experience how calming deep pressure therapy can help individuals on the autism spectrum feel better—and do better™.

For those with Asperger's syndrome, or other autism spectrum disorders, the OTvest™ can be a safe, gentle, holistic intervention to improve every aspect of daily life!

References:

Ayres, A. J. (1972). Sensory integration and learning disorders. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

Grandin, T., (1992). Calming effects of deep touch pressure in patients with autistic disorder, college students, and animals. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Vol. 2, 1.

McClure, M. K., & Holtz-Yotz, M. (1991). Case Report—The effects of sensory stimulatory treatment on an autistic child. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45, 1138–1142.

Miller, A., Moncayo, Z., Treadwell, D., & Olson, L. (1999, April). Children with autism using weighted vests: Two single-subject studies. Paper presented at the American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference and Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana.

VandenBerg, N., (2001). The use of weighted vests to increase on-task behavior in children with attention difficulties, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, Vol. 55, 621-628. doi:10.5014/ajot.55.6.621

This research is also in the book, Pediatric Issues in Occupational Therapy: A Compendium of Leading Scholarship (Royeen, 2004) published by AOTA (N. VandenBerg, Chapter 25.)

Autism Speaks

https://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services/resource-library/sensory-tools-products

An important resource for information regarding autism–including awareness, information, research and fundraising.

Click here to order the OTvest™ to experience how wearing it helps one feel better, and do better!  Experience what the OTvest™ can do as an alternative treatment for Asperger’s Syndrome.