Testimonials

Since December, we’ve been conducting field studies with the latest Squease garment prototypes, leaving them with teenagers and adults with autism to see how they perform. Below you can read their stories.
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Marije, adult with autism
Squease-jacket, just its name already makes me happy. A garment that is pleasant to wear with the ability to apply deep pressure whenever I want. The deep pressure helps to relieve my anxiety. I have worn the garment whilst driving my car (always a very stressful activity), which resulted in me being very relaxed. I have also worn the Squease jacket before going into a meeting. Normally an activity that I get over-stimulated from, but now I could calmly sit through the entire meeting. I already miss the jacket, let’s hope it is on the market soon!
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Thomas, boy with autism
I think the Squease jacket is nice and it looks great. Particularly the feeling when inflating and deflating is lovely. I am not sure whether I get calmer but it feels really nice. I like self-inflating the vest with the hand pump the best, since that does not make such noise and is fun to do.
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Jeanne, adult with autism
Recently I have been diagnosed with classic autism. In everyday life I have difficulties with my sensory integration, I face concentration problems, I find it hard to make transitions between activities and I quickly loose the boundaries of my body. While using Squease my concentration improved significantly. The pressure of the deep pressure vest literally ‘keeps me in my body’, a pleasant and safe feeling! The garment makes it easier for me to start a new activity. It is also nice that you can self-regulate how much and when you apply the pressure to your body.

I deliberately used Squease in situations that are difficult for me. One morning an acquaintance of mine dropped by unexpectedly, when I had just started doing some administrative work, an activity that I find very hard. I had not talked to him for a long time and so could not bring myself to say that I did not have time. I talked for one hour with him at the front door, an enormous effort for me! When he was gone I immediately put on Squease and fully inflated the deep pressure vest, so that I could feel myself again. Without Squease, I would have had to move around a lot to get ‘back into my body’ and feel calm again. A day that starts like that would normally be a lost day. Now, however, through the deep pressure, I even managed to pick up my administrative work again.
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Robyn, adult with autism
I’d like to wear Squease everyday and did so when I was on tour. 
I find it hard to relax before I go to sleep, I use Squease before I get into bed to relax me and recalibrate my thoughts so I worry less about the troubles in my mind.

 My brain only processes so much sensory information. You can assign points to each sensory stimulus and set a threshold, if my threshold was 100 that would mean that after this I got overloaded. Things like down lighting combined with reflective floor surfaces can sometimes be worth up to 50 points. When I was at a meeting in America I got overwhelmed by the noise and lights around me I felt overwhelmed and unable to think or feel properly so I inflated Squease. This made me feel safer.
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Willem, teenager with autism
I would prefer to wear Squease the whole day! I've put it on this morning when I woke up, and I don’t know when I'm going to take it off. Tonight in bed I think I’ll wear it again. I really like wearing the vest! The vest provides pressure on my body and I really like that, it just helps very much. Sometimes it is a bit warm wearing three layers. (T-shirt, vest, hooded top)
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Willem's teacher
I noticed that Willem was calmer, more relaxed, when he inflated the deep pressure vest and he seemed to recover quicker after a difficult moment. Over the course of the study Willem has learned to identify when he should have a "moment of inflation". At the end of the study period he used it more precisely for moments when he was struggling.

Besides the positive effect of Squease on Willem, it is a great advantage that he can wear it as a piece of clothing, so it’s always with him. He does not need to carry it around; he cannot forget it and he can control it himself.
In class I've barely noticed that Willem was wearing the deep pressure vest. I have experienced no distractions, except with the automated inflator that did make some sound. I did see that Willem was regularly occupied with the garment, he often inflated and deflated Squease. But that was not at all to play, Willem used it in a very serious and effective way.
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Jolanda, Willem's mother
I think Squease is great. Willem has full control and the people in his environment notice little to nothing. It provides clear support to Willem, a pleasant feeling. Willem has also worn the deep pressure vest at night and did not get out of bed those nights because he could not fall sleep. He seemed very satisfied when I tucked him in, with his deep pressure vest and under his weighted pillow. (Priceless, such a smile!)
In the mornings Willem would only take off Squease to wash himself and to get dressed, immediately after he would put Squease back on again.

Willem and I had a disagreement and normally Willem will hang in there for a long time. Today it was ‘over’ after a remarkably short period. I'm not sure, but I suspect the garment has contributed in this.

I liked the fact that I could help to alert Willem to use the vest. When he had a difficult time I sometimes gave a hint to inflate the vest, which helped; I could see Willem become calmer. (Only when the emotion  -anger, sadness -  was too strong, inflating the vest was no longer helpful). I really love it that I have something to offer Willem at such difficult moments. Which makes me feel less helpless when Willem does not know how to handle his emotions.

We think Squease is superb! Willem has really benefited a lot from it, as proven by the fact that he has worn it almost continuously, even at night! Willem finds it a joy to wear the vest.
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Bastiaan's mother
Bastiaan has tried the vest for 14 days and has worn it almost every day. He has used the Deep Pressure vest in moments of stress, such as during his typetopia course and when he was angry or frustrated. He would like to purchase the vest as soon as possible. There were several stressful and frustrating moments at school last week; a pity he was not wearing the vest any longer. At home we find that he now suffers again from raised frustrations.
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Jarno, boy with autism
It was great to wear the Squease garment. The hooded jacket is nice and soft. Inflating and deflating the vest gives a nice feeling and it made me feel calmer. I've worn the jacket at school and during transport to and from school in the minibus. Usually I do not like traveling with the minibus, but with the inflated vest it wasn't that bad. Thank you so much that I could try!

Thank you so much for having us try the vest. We are seriously considering purchasing one for Jarno once it is for sale, especially if there is a summer version on the market. Good luck with the further development of the vest. We will stay tuned.
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Carolien, Occupational Therapist nursing home The Hague
In our nursing home we have tried the Squease vest with a lady with dementia. Our reasoning was that this lady was very restless and Deep Pressure could help her to relax. We did try a weighted blanket previously but this was considered too heavy and warm and she was often pushing the blanket away.

By using the vest, three times a day for 15 minutes at a time, it appeared that our client became calmer and she sat in bed with a smile. The pump could be removed to prevent her from playing with it. We hope to use the vest with more people in the future, so it can also help them to become less restless.
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Janet, Chris' mother
Chris has worn the jacket every day to school during the trial period. The vest helped her at school to reduce the level of stress she felt when making schoolwork. Chris says she was now able to carry out task she would otherwise not have dared to do. At school she often kept the vest inflated, since she did not like to deflate in the classroom due to the sound it makes when deflating. With little puffs, she would then deflate it during break time.

Surprisingly Chris prefers to use the vest to help her fall asleep. In combination with a weight blanket on her legs it helped her to structure her thoughts. Chris indicates the vest does not help her to better cope with overstimulation through noises and sounds.