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=                            Hug_machine                             =
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                            Introduction
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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 individuals. The device was invented by
Temple Grandin to administer deep-touch pressure, a type of physical
stimulation often self-administered by autistic individuals as a means
of self-soothing.

Autistic people often have sensory processing disorder, 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
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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 'Temple
Grandin'.


                              History
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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 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. 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
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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. 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
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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
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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. Focus groups and simulations will be necessary to
confirm acceptability compared to others and trials will be useful to
confirm efficacy of this method.


                              See also
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* Weighted blanket
* Swaddling


                           External links
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* [https://www.grandin.com/ Dr. Temple Grandin's Webpage: Livestock
Behaviour, Design of Facilities and Humane Slaughter] (Grandin.com)
* [https://www.grandin.com/inc/intro-squeeze.html Description and
schematic details of the squeeze machine] (Grandin.com)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160309085542/http://hugmachine.org/
Hug Machine Building Directions]


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