Hug machine

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"Squeeze machine" redirects here. For the album, see Squeeze Machine.
For metaphorical "hug boxes" in media, see Echo chamber (media).

A hug machine, also known as a hug box, a squeeze machine, or a squeeze box, is a deep-pressure device designed to calm hypersensitive persons, usually individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The therapeutic, stress-relieving device was invented by Temple Grandin while she was attending college.[1][2]

Autism has a profound effect upon social interactions and frequently co-occurrs with sensory processing disorder, which can cause hypersensitivity to sensory stimulation,[3] often making it uncomfortable or impractical for them to turn to other human beings for comfort. Grandin addressed this by designing the hug machine for sensory relief.

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 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.[4] The machine and its development are depicted in the biopic Temple Grandin.[5]

History[]

Cattle squeeze chutes, such as the portable one pictured here, were Grandin's inspiration for her hug machine.

As a young child, Grandin realized 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 Arizona 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.[6][7] 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.[6][7]

Initially, Grandin's device met with disapproval as psychologists at her college sought to confiscate her prototype hug machine.[2] 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 in Salem, Oregon, involved ten autistic children and found a reduction in tension and anxiety.[8] Other studies, including one by Dr. Margaret Creedon, have yielded similar results. A small pilot study 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.[9]

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.[4]

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."[10]

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.[11][12]

Animal analogs[]

Several compression garments are available to treat noise phobia in dogs.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Grandin, Temple (1995). Thinking in Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life with Autism. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 9780385477925.
  2. ^ a b Grandin, Temple; Scariano, Margaret M. (1996). Emergence: Labeled Autistic. Grand Central Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 9780446671828.
  3. ^ Sicile-Kira, Chantal (2 March 2010). "What Is Sensory Processing Disorder and How Is It Related to Autism?". Psychology Today. Genesis Behavior Center Inc. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Grandin, Temple (Spring 1992). "Calming Effects of Deep Touch Pressure in Patients with Autistic Disorder, College Students, and Animals". Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2 (1): 63–72. doi:10.1089/cap.1992.2.63. PMID 19630623. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Temple Grandin at IMDb
  6. ^ a b Grandin, Temple; Johnson, Catherine (December 26, 2004). "Animals in Translation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Raver, Anne (August 5, 1997). "Qualities of an Animal Scientist: Cow's Eye View and Autism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  8. ^ Edelson, Ph.D., Stephen M. (December 6, 2009). "Temple Grandin's Hug Machine". Salem, Oregon: Center for the Study of Autism. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  9. ^ Edelson, Stephen M.; Edelson, Meredyth Goldberg; Kerr, David C. R.; Grandin, Temple (1999). "Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Deep Pressure on Children With Autism: A Pilot Study Evaluating the Efficacy of Grandin's Hug Machine". American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 53 (2): 145–152. doi:10.5014/ajot.53.2.145. PMID 10200837.
  10. ^ Wallis, Claudia (February 4, 2010). "Temple Grandin on Temple Grandin". Time Magazine. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  11. ^ Nikolovska, Lira; Ackermann, Edith; Cherubini, Mauro (2008). "Exploratory Design, Augmented Furniture?". In Dillenbourg, Pierre; Huang, Jeffrey; Cherubini, Mauro (eds.). Interactive Artifacts and Furniture Supporting Collaborative Work and Learning. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Series. Vol. 10. Springer. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-0387772349. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  12. ^ "The Squeeze Chair Project". Wendy Jacob. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

External links[]

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