The Hug Jacket

Overview

According to Autism Society Organization, about one percent of the world's population has Autism Spectrum Disorder. It costs more than $86,000 extra per year to educate a student with autism. Autism patients experience meltdowns, which often are unexpected or are a result of tantrums which transform into meltdowns. During a meltdown, autistics crave pressure in certain parts of the body at a certain force ( Grandin), seeking tenderness and feelings of security. Parents, teachers and guardians often try to apply this pressure by themselves but the nature of autism patients makes it difficult; autistics refuse human contact most of the time because they view them as threats. This project aims at provide a calming effect when an autistic is having a meltdown by applying deep-pressure on certain upper body parts. The Hug Jacket provides deep-pressure which can be controlled and switched on via a mobile application, dispensing human contact. It will calm down the autistic suffering from an outburst and, on the long-term, improve their behavior, social and learning skills, reduce their anxiety and therefore improve their life in general.

Competition history

• ISEF 2016 Biomedical and Health Sciences · Entry BEHA021T

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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