Hug Machine
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A hug machine, also known as a hug box, a squeeze machine, or a squeeze box, is a therapeutic device designed to calm hypersensitive persons, usually
autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
individuals. The device was invented by
Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic, inventor, and ethologist. She is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. ...
to administer deep-touch pressure, a type of physical stimulation often self-administered by autistic individuals as a means of self-soothing.
Autistic people Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
often have
sensory processing disorder Sensory processing disorder (SPD), formerly known as sensory integration dysfunction, is a condition in which multisensory input is not adequately processed in order to provide appropriate responses to the demands of the environment. Sensory ...
, which entails abnormal levels of stimulation of the senses (such as hypersensitivity). Because of difficulty with social interactions, it can be uncomfortable or impractical to turn to other human beings for comfort, including hugs. Grandin addressed this by designing the hug machine, in part to help her own anxiety and sensory sensitivity.


Description

The hug machine consists of two hinged side-boards, each four by three feet (120 cm by 90 cm) with thick soft padding, which form a V-shape, with a complex control box at one end and heavy-duty tubes leading to an air compressor. The user lies or squats between the side-boards for as long or short of a period as desired. Using pressure exerted by the air compressor and controlled by the user, the side-boards apply deep pressure stimulation evenly across the lateral parts of the body. The machine and its development are depicted in the
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...
''
Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic, inventor, and ethologist. She is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. ...
''.


History

The inventor of the machine, Temple Grandin, realized as a young child that she would seek out deep pressure stimulation, but she felt over-stimulated when someone hugged or held her. The idea for the hug machine came to her during a visit to her aunt's
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ranch, where she noted the way cattle were confined in a squeeze chute for inoculation, and how some of the cattle immediately calmed down after pressure was administered. She realized that the deep pressure from the chute had a calming effect on the cattle, and she decided that something similar might well settle down her own hypersensitivity. Initially, Grandin's device met with disapproval as psychologists at her college sought to confiscate her prototype hug machine. Her science teacher, however, encouraged her to determine the reason it helped resolve the anxiety and sensory issues.


Efficacy

Several therapy programs in the United States now use hug machines, effectively achieving general calming effects among autistic people across the age spectrum. A 1995 study on the efficacy of Grandin's device, conducted by the Center for the Study of Autism, working with
Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...
in
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, involved ten autistic children and found a reduction in tension and anxiety. Other studies, including one by Margaret Creedon, have yielded similar results. A small pilot study by Edelson et al. (1999), published in the '' American Journal of Occupational Therapy'', reported that the machine produced a significant reduction in tension but only a small decrease in anxiety. Grandin continued to use her own hug box on a regular basis to provide the deep pressure necessary to relieve symptoms of her anxiety. "I concentrate on how gently I can do it", she has said. A paper Grandin wrote on her hug machine and the effects of deep pressure stimulation was published in the '' Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology''. In a February 2010 ''Time'' magazine interview, Grandin stated that she no longer uses a hug machine: "It broke two years ago, and I never got around to fixing it. I'm into hugging people now."


Squeeze chair

For several years in the 1990s, urban interventionist/artist Wendy Jacob worked with Grandin in developing furniture that squeezes or "hugs" users, inspired by Grandin's hug machine.


Deep pressure

Other deep pressure techniques were developed. Systematic reviews showed that they had positive effects but the quality of the studies was too low to confirm this effect. The pressure can be controlled by the person herself.
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s and
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will be necessary to confirm acceptability compared to others and trials will be useful to confirm efficacy of this method.


See also

* Weighted blanket *
Swaddling Swaddling is an ancient practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloths so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. Swaddling fell out of favour in the 17th cen ...


References


External links


Dr. Temple Grandin's Webpage: Livestock Behaviour, Design of Facilities and Humane Slaughter
(Grandin.com)

(Grandin.com)
Hug Machine Building Directions
{{Autism resources American inventions Treatment of autism Medical equipment