Hug Machine Essay

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Considered the most influential Autism speaker and humane animal treatment activist in the world, Dr. Temple Grandin has changed the face of slaughter house designs and functions immensely throughout the United States. …show more content…
The squeeze chute would administer pressure to the cattle and Grandin found that this almost immediately calmed the cattle down enough to be branded or vaccinated. Thinking of her own hypersensitivity, Grandin wondered if similar pressure like that of the squeeze chute might calm her Autistic sensitivities. She quickly discovered that human hugs and humans holding her provided her with extreme discomfort and did nothing to calm her down. At the age of 18, Temple created her own working prototype of a “hug machine”. She conducted several tests on herself and concluded that it provided exactly the amount of pressure she needed to be comforted. The original “hug machine” was constructed by two padded wooden boards hinged together to form a V-shape. The person using the machine lies down between the boards with a control lever in hand. By moving the lever, the user adjusts the pressure put on the wooden boards by an air cylinder system. When the boards have enough pressure upon them, the user is squeezed between them, applying the comforting feeling. This machine has provided a soothing relief to Grandin ever since, still using it today. At the time, Temple’s psychologists saw this as a bad idea and tried to rid her of the machine. But Mr. Carlock, her science teacher, proposed that Temple study the effects of the …show more content…
Grandin has had a worldwide influence on the designs of livestock handling facilities and Autistic children and people. She gives many lectures a year, discussing her findings on Autism and also her research of animal behavior and facility design. She has worked at Colorado State University for over 20 years, teaching animal sciences and classes on the engineering of livestock handling facilities. Her “hug machine” has been manufactured and sold to autistic families and treatment centers, which has been proven to have a definite calming effect on autistic children and even adults. Due to her influential work, Dr. Grandin has been the recipient of almost 50 prestigious awards, most notably having five honorary doctorates in her name and being named one of the 2010 TIME 100 consisting of the most influential people in the world of 2010. She has written over 400 articles and published seven books, including two New York Times Bestsellers, “Animals in Translation” and ‘’Animals Make Us Human”. Dr.Grandin’s influence has reached autistic families across the world and humane animal treatment facilities everywhere. She currently resides in Colorado teaching classes at Colorado State University. She is not married and never plans to marry or have children, for her autism keeps her from having any sort of social life. Dr. Grandin once said “If I could snap my fingers and get rid of my autism, I wouldn’t,” going on to explain that autism has become her entire life and has helped

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