Imagine receiving a portable hug anytime you needed one.
That’s the idea behind a new device called a deep-pressure vest that delivers a “portable hug” called deep pressure touch stimulation (DPTS). While no replacement for a human hug, this type of stimulation has shown promise in multiple research studies that have examined its effectiveness for a range of childhood conditions:
Occupational therapists working with children suffering from autism, ADHD and sensory processing disorders have observed that DPTS can increase attention to tasks and reduce anxiety and harmful behaviors by providing different sensory stimuli.
DPTS is also part of a growing trend to improve the lives of adults with mental illness by using touch, sound and aroma to influence alertness, attention and their ability to adapt to their surroundings.
[...] Initial results of a study with students at UMass Amherst who did not have autism or ADHD showed that participants preferred Mullen’s prototype vest, which applies pressure that feels like a firm hug or swaddling, over the current gold standard weighted vest.
It’s not as ridiculous as you might think. Mullen, the inventor of the new device, recently won the $50,000 grand prize in the UMass Amherst Technology Innovation Challenge.
Is a self-hug device more helpful than a human hug? Surely not, but a self-hug device offers something a human hug can’t — immediacy and availability when a person might need one most.
Read the full article: Pressure Vest May Help Sensory Processing Disorders
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ADHD Report» Blog Archive » A Portable Hug for You (5/23/2008)
Sometimes You Just Need a Hug (5/23/2008)
3 Comments to
“A Portable Hug for You”
I’d love to get one of these for my son, who has SPD.
That is so cool. I just hope it doesn’t get used by a busy parent instead of the real thing!
We have used a Dreamcatcher Weighted Blankets for our child for the past four years. It has been a huge help in both sleep and calming issues we had. I don’t know if a vest would work as weel but the blanket has been great, we couldn’t live without it now. The website we last had for them is weightedblanket.net.
Hope the information helps other families.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 23 May 2008
