SENSORY
Sensory Weighted Blanket
and Miracle Cape Created
with Love
By Marna PACHECO and Susan HICKOK
S
it down for a cup of coffee with Marna Pache-
co, and she’ll tell you that grocery shopping
can be tough. But it’s not the weekly scaven-
ger hunt for this obscure ingredient or that
hard-to-find brand that makes food-finding
missions tough.
It’s a combination of things, in fact. For starters, Pa-
checo’s 11-year-old daughter, Millie, often acts out
when she finds herself in an unfamiliar environment.
Chaos and loud noises can trigger outbursts. This is
especially tough because other store patrons—even
other parents—don’t seem to understand what it’s
like to parent a child with special needs. The judg-
mental stares rub Pacheco the wrong way.
Millie continues to experience the lasting effects of
emotional trauma stemming from her early experi-
ences in a Chinese orphanage. She has lower than
normal cognitive abilities, she is mostly nonverbal,
and she struggles with sensory processing disorder.
Simple outings can be a real struggle.
Pacheco’s friend Susan Hickok knows all too well
what that is like. She adopted her daughter, Elsa,
from the same Chinese orphanage, and the two girls
have faced similar struggles over the years. Elsa has
had to cope with a cancer diagnosis, as well, amplify-
ing the family’s need to find a viable way to mitigate
her fears and frustrations.
A Simple Solution
Pacheco and Hickok desperately wanted to help
their daughters find peace. That’s when Pacheco
began researching the effects of abuse and neglect
on the brain. She wanted to explore the science be-
hind what was happening with Millie and Elsa, and
she sought the advice of several professionals. Pa-
checo’s occupational therapist suggested she look
into weighted blankets, which cause an involuntary
calming sensation.
Pacheco soon discovered that there weren’t many
blankets to choose from. Big and bulky blankets with
bold prints simply wouldn’t do—she needed some-
thing that would allow her daughter to blend into a
crowd rather than stand out.
The two moms decided to create their own line of
blankets and wearables, doing two things that set
them apart from other companies.
One, they created innovative designs that use posi-
tive deep pressure touch stimulation, prompting the
brain to release serotonin, dopamine, and endor-
phins. CapeAble Sensory Products is the first and only
company to incorporate micro-beading distribution
in its weighted products, a process that ensures the
recycled glass beads in the blankets disperse equal-
ly—even when someone has the blanket or wearable
draped over their shoulders while standing up. Their
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