'Hugging' vest to help kids with autism

[Guest guest]

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local & newsid=79064

'Hugging' vest to help kids with autism

New York, May 26 (IANS) A vest capable of giving a " portable hug "

could soon lessen anxiety among children with autism and Attention

Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).

Currently under development at the University of Massachusetts

Amherst, the " deep pressure " vest can also be used for adults with

mental illness, ScienceDaily reported.

Developed by Mullen at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,

the vest delivers a " portable hug " called deep pressure touch

stimulation (DPTS).

" People with developmental disorders and mental illness are often

overwhelmed in everyday environments such as school and the

workplace, and solutions available to families and mental health

professionals are limited, " says Mullen.

According to Mullen, the vest's hug " is an alternative therapy that

can safely and discreetly provide the treatment they need to function

in mainstream society " .

To market the vest, Mullen has created a concept business called

Therapeutic Systems, which recently won the $50,000 grand prize in

the UMass Amherst Technology Innovation Challenge, a competition for

the best entrepreneurial technology business plan produced by

students, recent alumni and faculty advisors on campus.

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 behaviours

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.

Eight clinical studies of the effectiveness and safety of existing

weighted blankets and vests that deliver DPTS were conducted by

Mullen and his advisor Sundar Krishnamurty, a professor of mechanical

and industrial engineering at UMass Amherst.

Mullen used that data to design a prototype system for applying DPTS

that can be inserted into any commercial vest or jacket with a

lining.

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.

IANS

[Guest guest]

I would personally love to have one of those. Right

now I use a blanket wrapped around my lower ribcaage

as tight as I can pull it.