Good Vibrations - anyone heard of this?

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Hi - I'm new to the forum. My son, who is 6 was diagnosed (FINALLY) a few weeks ago with Asperger's. We suspected it for a long time, but it took forever to get a pediatrician to listen.

Anyway - we're past that now. In school he zones out frequently and the neuro-psych suggested a "good vibrations" prompter, which is a wristwatch like device that emits gentle and various vibrations - the teacher wears a switch and can discreetly "buzz" the student to prompt them to attend to whatever they need to attend to.

This thing is $289, which, if it works, is worth it, but I wanted to see if anyone else has had success or has tried the thing before shelling out the money for it.

Any thoughts?

Susan

I'm really good at internet searches but I can't find anything on this. Any brand name?

I tried to do a link to the website for it, but I haven't posted 5 times, so it won't let me. It's called Good Vibrations and it's on Allied Products, Biofeedback devices.

Susan

site selling Good Vibrations the site of the product isn't helpful. This site has information on it and pictures. Frankly, I don't know about this kind of thing. Never heard of it. It doesn't look "discreet" because the gun that the teacher uses is large. If discreet is what you're looking for. It doesn't really look like it's geared towards self-management skills. It's more of a compliance tool.
We use lists and schedules. That's the kind of thing that a child can learn to do for himself. I have to write lists to keep on task.

thought this was going to be a whole different kind of post...
I've heard of a company called Good Vibrations, but it's all about... how should I put it... marital aids. Not for children.

I've never heard of this particular product, but I know I would find it annoying. I can't even leave my phone on vibrate, it just bugs me.

Thanks - that's helpful feedback! I wasn't sure - it didn't seem like something that would teach him, but something that would "wake" him up when he's asleep with his eyes open. However, if there's a way to teach him to do that on his own, that seems preferable. I just don't know how to do that....

Interesting. Personally I think it would lead to more trouble then its worth. It may even end up being the antagonist and causing outbursts and the like.

I agree that it could create more trouble than it's worth. I wouldn't want to wear something that's basically the human version of a dog shock collar.

if he zones out frequently, sounds like a behavior support plan is in order........this would state certain times that he could zone out, and ways to re-engage him when he is zoning out.......no shock bracelet can teach self-management skills.

I thought about trying a similar device when my son was still in public school. It wasn't a shock device. It was supposed to be used to vibrate the wristwatch to let him know when it was time to change activities.

LOL, I thought about it long and hard and realized that it would have irritated my son . He used to have so much trouble transitioning between activities that I think the reminder would have flipped him out. Also, after-the-fact, I found out that he resents wearing anything on his wrist. I found this out when I bought him a regular wristwatch.

So, I never got it. But, the good news is that he has developed and is continuing to improve on his transitioning skills. I need to just write him out a "to do" list for the day and he will finish the list. (i do homeschool though)

hi susan. to what extent does he 'zone out'? my 13 year old has as. he doesn't so much as zone out - but more day dreams. whereas, my friends as son used to literally sleep with his eyes open. they discovered that this was a form of epilepsy. instead of having the fits, he used to 'zone out' anywhere, anytime. they were told by doctors it was dangerous to wake him from this. has anyone mentioned this to you before they try to zap him to wake him!

ciara

Tortuga - that's it - it doesn't shock the wearer, it just has a vibration. God knows I wouldn't ever consider putting a shock device on my son! Somehow that got blown out of proportion. You bring up a good point, which is exactly why I asked here for people's thoughts on this as I wasn't sure it was a good idea and spending almost 300 bucks for something that would only irritate him didn't seem right.


Flower, I used to babysit a girl that had that form of epilepsy, where the seizures looked like daydreaming. I did mention this to his teacher and to the neural-psych and they don't think that's what he's doing. He just goes to Planet Anders. I'm sure his own thoughts are more interesting than the calendar activity at school - at least to him. He's been having more good days at school, but he's now getting lots of sensory breaks and he's on a sensory "diet," which seems to help. His teacher thinks his daydreaming, or zoning out is affecting his academics now. I'm not so sure. He reads far beyond his grade level, and math concepts are not a problem for him. I see it more becoming a problem when he has to prepare for standardized tests in 3rd grade. Every kid has to fit into the mold, you know. I really would like to home school him, but he actually loves being around other kids a lot.

Well, if he is doing it only with certain tasks, then it sounds like a "boring moment" problem. I did the same thing with times table tests (those multiplication tests). Of course, blanking out on a timed test isn't really good. But geez, I wonder if there is a way he could be accomodated?

It doesn't really sound like "his" problem, but the tasks.

I saw a similar product online and in a print catalog for $89.99, which is much less than the price you mentioned. Hopefully this will help you out! Here's the link:

http://store.schoolspecialtyonline.net/ ... item=88542

I'd hate it and more likely than not would spend the entire school day staring at my wrist, afraid the teacher would make it vibrate.