page_title: Hug machine
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hug machine / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Entomologist Elmer Ahrens (left) and animal caretaker Adolfo Pena inspect for en:cattle fever en:ticks.
context_page_description: 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.
  Autism disorders have profound effects upon both social interactions and sensitivity to sensory stimulation in persons with such conditions, 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.
context_section_description: 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. 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.
caption: Cattle squeeze chutes, such as the portable one pictured here, were Grandin's inspiration for her hug machine.
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