DIY: Lap Sock/Rice Snake

Hi everyone!

We stumbled across a simple and fun DIY craft for individuals who may need a little more sensory input. You may have heard individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder use weighted blankets, stretchy bands, or fidgets such as stress balls, squiggly bands or chewys. All of these provide extra sensory feedback to either calm or help an individual focus, as well as improve active listening, attention, and learning. This DIY, called the Lap Sock/Rice Snake, provides extra weight to the lap (like a small weighted blankets) and would be used when the individual needs to sit for an extended period of time. Some individuals may also use it on their shoulders and around their neck, just be sure they are able to sustain the weight. It was inspired by Kids Activities and requires materials that may already be in your household!

Materials

• Clean, large tube sock or knee high sock
• 6-8 cups of rice, the bigger the sock, the more rice you will need
• container or funnel to scoop the rice into the sock
• essential oil (optional)
• needle and thread

Directions

1. Start with a clean sock. A large tube sock or knee high sock will work just fine. Feel free to cut off any excess material of the top of the sock if you wish your sock to be shorter

2. Fill your sock with rice (we used a large mason jar, covered it with the sock, and flipped the jar. This minimized the mess!)

3. Optional: while pouring in the rice, add drops of essential oil and massage it into the rice. We decided to go with a calming essential oil

4. Leave about 2-3 inches of room to tie and sew the end of the sock

5. Sew shut the end of the sock to make sure no rice escapes

6. Enjoy!

Suggestions

Feel free to decorate and choose the design of your sock, this can be a great activity and decision making process for children. If you do not have rice, you can use beans to fill your sock! For extra texture, mix the beans and rice together. Adding essential oil not only makes the sock smell great but it also serves as a relaxing agent for those who use it. The Lap Sock is easy to transport and can be used during car rides, while waiting for appointments, and at school (just be sure to ask the teacher if it is okay to use during class).

Let us know what you think of this DIY and be sure to share photos with us, we can’t wait to see what everyone creates!

Alannah Forstner, Toneworks Music Therapy Intern