The Wonders of a Hug Machine

Autistic children and adults seek different ways to calm themselves and deal with sensory overload. Sometimes, when people hug them, it only causes more distress since they are often unable to say their needs by indicating a certain amount of length of pressure. It may be frustrating and ineffective not only for them, but also for the people who are hugging them.

Hugging was meant to relieve the frustration of autistic individuals. It allows them to control the situation they are in. Sometimes, these people crave for the feeling of pressure to help calm their anxiety. Through this, the hug machine was developed by a woman with autism. It is also known as a hug box or squeeze machine, and it has two padded sideboards that are connected to the bottom of the boards. This connection forms a V-shape. A lever, which allows the autistic child or adult to control the amount of pressure, pushes the sideboards together, thus creating pressure.

It is still not certain if autistic persons respond to pressure and if this pressure really provides a calming effect. The hug machine actually affects the increased sensory perceptions of autistic individuals who oftentimes feel distress. Through the application of pressure, he or she is able to concentrate on the feeling of pressure only. This produces the calming effect that releases them from anxiety. With anxiety, autistic individuals find it incapacitating and frustrating to function socially. The hug machine is very helpful in easing this anxiety, and it is being used by several programs and researches on autism today.

Keep in mind that hugging or squeezing someone with autism may not truly help. It might cause a further increase in their sensory perception and anxiety. If you feel that the hug machine is way out of your budget, you can create one of your own. You can wrap the autistic person in a thick blanket while making sure that they can still control the pressure that is applied. You can also try searching for padded boards that you can buy at an affordable price. Try searching for those that can more closely stimulate the sideboards of the hug machine. Or you can try to tie a heavy-duty yarn to each side of the padded board to allow control over the pressure. You may also ask your child's school if they have a hug-machine for the community. A hug-machine will truly help you and any autistic individual to cope with the world and function socially with lessened anxiety.