User:Jlk004/Hug machine

Overall To-dos
"Please help rewrite this article to introduce an encyclopedic style and a neutral point of view. (October 2022)" -- edit note at top of article


 * Rewrite History section to include more information and summarize the Grandin story so that it's less of a story

Add edits to Design section (from Description):


 * More designs for hug machines in addition to the Grandin one

'''Too Grandin-focused. Add more sources for different hug machines, summarize Grandin stuff in NPOV.'''

Editing: Lead
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 individuals with autism spectrum disorders. 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.


 * [Remove second paragraph, move to background]


 * [ADD IMAGE]

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.

Notes:
As a young child, Temple 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. 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.
 * useful to have deep touch pressure administered by a machine instead of another person; Autistic individuals may prefer self-administration over receiving this stimulation from other individuals
 * make less story-like; summarize Grandin, and then other developments

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. 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.

Deep-touch pressure is often self-administered by autistic individuals as a means of self-soothing. Autistic individuals may prefer self-administration over receiving this stimulation from other individuals -- for example, through a hug.

New: Design

 * Renamed from "Description"; several different designs have been proposed for this, not just Grandin's
 * Headings including "Grandin's Initial Design"?

Editing: Effectiveness (from Efficacy)

 * Seems biased towards efficacy of hug machines; don't know how this can be improved
 * Grandin no longer using hug box? Is this relevant?