The hug machine for the dying and autistic

[Conan The Librarian]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugging_machine
 
Automated comfort.

[two-blocked]

HBO produced an excellent movie about Temple Grandin.  Her hugging machine was not an immediate success.

[powderman]

CONAN. I never heard of such a thing. POWDERMAN. 

[DDZ]

I'm betting a real hug from a loving person would do much more for the soul than a machine.

[Victor3]

 My Son is high-functioning autistic. When he was a baby/toddler, we learned he had "sensory stimulation" issues. Nothing would keep him from crying for hours on end and the doctors couldn't figure out why. Test after test revealed nothing physically wrong. Holding/hugging only made matters worse and we were going out of our minds trying to find a way to comfort him. Advice we got was to remove clothing/blankets and other items that touched him whenever possible, which seemed reasonable but didn't work.
 
 After reading one of Temple Grandin's articles, we decided to try a method she suggested. We began using what amounted to a huge ace bandage to "swaddle" him tightly. It worked like flipping a switch to turn off his crying and he was calm, happy and often asleep within minutes. A minor miracle for our family.


 When he got older, up until he was about 10, he loved to sit on my lap and have me lock my arms around him from behind and squeeze as tight as I could for as long as he could take it; always saying "tighter, Dad, tighter!"


 Today at 14, he's too cool to sit on Dad's lap anymore but still has to have tight-fitting clothes/shoes to feel comfortable.


 So I guess there's something to it. 

[Cuts Crooked]

I'm betting a real hug from a loving person would do much more for the soul than a machine.

How much are you willing to put up on that bet?

You obviously have little or no understanding of autism. But don't feel bad about it, even the "experts" really don't know much about it and even defining it can be a tricky task.

[DDZ]

Your exactly right cuts, I don't know much about autism, nor did I claim to. I do know that love from a loving mother and father can fix many things a machine can't. If you wish to know how I know that. I lived it, and I would never trade it for anything.

[Cuts Crooked]

Your exactly right cuts, I don't know much about autism, nor did I claim to. I do know that love from a loving mother and father can fix many things a machine can't. If you wish to know how I know that. I lived it, and I would never trade it for anything.

I've lived it too my friend. And I have lived for many years with an autistic son. He is the light of my life. But I would be lying if I said that it has all been sweetness and light.

To the day I die, I will wonder......what does he really feel about me? Does he know how much I love him? What is locked inside his head that he cannot share with us? Like Victor3, my son is what is called a "high Functioning Autistic. As near as the experts can tell he is a genius, with a photographic memory, and he is a lightning calculator. He recite from memory anything he has ever read in his life, or seen on TV. But interacting with other humans is difficult for him, and talking about his "feelings" is impossible. An inigma wrapped in mystery.

On the plus side, he is a staunch conservative!

Today I looked at his Christmas present, which I lust after BTW, and I wondered if he will feel any joy when he opens it.

[DDZ]

Sounds like your son has some very admirable and loving qualities. I'm sure he is a blessing to you. It is the hard times, that produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. This time in the world is not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Just my guess, but I figure he knows that he is loved very much by his dad.  God bless you Cuts.

Sorry about my earlier post. I really wasn't insinuating that autistic children aren't loved. I know better. Just should have thought more before I typed.