Hug machine

A hug machine (sometimes referred to as a 'hug box', 'squeeze machine', or 'squeeze box') is a deep pressure device designed to calm hypersensitive persons, usually individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The therapeutic, stress-relieving device was originally conceived and designed by Temple Grandin at the age of eighteen.

Autism profoundly affects both social interactions and sensitivity to sensory stimulation, often making it uncomfortable or impractical to turn to other human beings for comfort. Grandin solved this by designing the hug machine so both she and others could turn to it for sensory relief, whenever needed or simply desired.

As a young child, Grandin realized she would seek out deep pressure stimulation, but hugs and being held over-stimulated her. The idea for the hug machine was devised during a visit to her aunt's Colorado ranch, where she noted the way cattle were branded while confined in a squeeze chute, and how the cattle immediately calmed down after pressure was administered. She realized the deep pressure from the chute had a calming effect, and decided that might well settle down her own hypersensitivity. Whereas psychologists at her high school sought to confiscate her prototype hug machine, her science teacher encouraged her to determine just why it helped resolve her anxiety and sensory issues.

The hug machine consists of two hinged side-boards, each four by three feet 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.

Several therapy programs in the United States use hug machines, effectively achieving general calming effects among both children and adults with autism. 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, involving ten children with autism, found a reduction in tension and anxiety. Other studies, including one by Dr. Margaret Creedon, have yielded similar results. According to Creedon, "Generally, the number of stereotypies decreased or were less disruptive to on task behavior."

To this day, Grandin continues to use her hug box on a regular basis, to provide herself the deep pressure necessary to relieve symptoms of her anxiety. "I concentrate on how gently I can do it," she has said. Grandin has authored a paper on her 'hug machine' and the effects of deep pressure stimulation that has been published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.