Snug Vest – Founder and President Lisa Fraser a former swimming teacher, got the inspiration to start her own company after working with children on the autism spectrum. She noticed that they would frequently seek out tight spaces and pressure related therapy to help manage their anxiety.
Over time Lisa developed the Snug Vest that offers safe self-administered air pressure to the torso, very much like a hug
The Snug Vest website states:
‘Snug Vest is a therapeutic product for individuals with autism, sensory processing disorder or anxiety. Snug Vest inflates to provide adjustable and evenly-distributed pressure to the torso for a comforting hug-like squeeze without pressure placed on the stomach or chest. The stylish Snug Vest promotes independence as the user can self-inflate their vest in a discrete way to get the exact amount of safe pressure they need. Snug Vest enables the user to complete daily tasks with ease anywhere they go!’
Snug Vest began production in December 2013, and we last reported on them in September 2013. Our report can be read here.
Lisa and the team have received an overwhelmingly positive response from both families and healthcare professionals who have tried the vest.
We wanted to catch up with Lisa and to find out how Snug Vest were doing today and if there were any further developments.
Below is the video Meet our Founder, Lisa Fraser
What responses have you had from the autism community about Snug Vest?
We’ve had overwhelmingly positive responses about Snug Vest from positive behavioral changes like reduction in tantrums & meltdowns to overall improved psychological effects of the product inducing a calming and relaxing sensation. The community loves the look of the product, that it doesn’t make the wearer look silly as many therapeutic products do. They love the fact that the wearers can administer the pressure to themselves, promoting independence. All agreed that Snug Vest is much better than any other deep pressure product available, especially weighted vests. Snug Vest is truly a ‘lifesaver’ said one mom and ‘the next best thing since sliced bread’ said another OT!
How has the Snug Vest brand expanded and developed since our last report in 2013?
Snug Vest has been sold into hundreds of school districts and therapy centers around the world. Our brand has strengthened now that we have been partnered with many autism organizations including the Autism Society. We’ve been featured in international press and Snug Vest is known as a high quality and effective product amongst many Occupational Therapists and parents.
Do you ‘road test’ your products?
Absolutely! We have made hundreds of prototypes and have done rigorous clinical testing. Every time we do a manufacturing run we make product improvements based on customer feedback. We take new ideas we have to conferences and to families and ask them what they think, wrapping every piece of feedback into consideration to ultimately make the best possible solution we can make.
Can you tell me a little about the design process?
We know that when you’ve met one child with autism, you’ve met one child with autism. This was important to consider when designing. If a child is hypersensitive to tags inside clothes, we designed the vest without tags so those that were hypersensitive can tolerate it. We made hundreds of prototypes for testing and the design process is still ongoing and we make improvements to the therapy tool.
What lies ahead for Snug Vest?
We are excited to launch some new Snug Vest styles and features in the future. Regulating the pressure with the press of a button, monitoring pressure applied and perhaps pressure on the head and legs – we are so excited at all the possibilities!
Would you like to give our readers a message?
Like an new type of therapy, you must try it out to see if it works. Just because your child doesn’t like a weighted vest, they may really benefit from a Snug Vest. We offer a 60 day money-back guarantee because we don’t want you to be stuck with something that doesn’t work. If it can change your child’s life, it’s worth a try as Snug Vest doesn’t have any harmful side-effects as many medications do. Medication should be a last resort. We are dedicated on helping families with autism achieve a better quality of life. Lastly, please check out my webinar series designed to help parents of children with autism learn from autism experts. It’s called “Inside the Spectrum: Interviews with Autism Thought Leaders”.
For the month of April, Snug Vest is offering a $40 discount exclusively for readers of Autism Daily Newscast, in honour of World Autism Awareness Month
The unique reference code is AutismApril
More information about Snug Vest can be found on their website. http://www.snugvest.com/