Emotion
and Autism
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Learning
empathy
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To
have feelings of gentleness, one must experience gentle bodily comfort. As my
nervous system learned to tolerate the soothing pressure from my squeeze
machine, I discovered that the comforting feeling made me a kinder and gentler
person. It was difficult for me to understand the idea of kindness until I had
been soothed myself. It wasn't until after I had used the modified squeeze
machine that I learned how to pet our cat gently. He used to run away from me
because I held him too tightly. Many autistic children hold pets too tightly,
and they have a disproportionate sense of how to approach other people or be
approached. After I experienced the soothing feeling of being held, I was able
to transfer that good feeling to the cat. As I became gentler, the cat began to
stay with me, and this helped me understand the ideas of reciprocity and
gentleness.
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From
the time I started using my squeeze machine, I understood that the feeling it
gave me was one that I needed to cultivate toward other people. It was clear
that the pleasurable feelings were those associated with love for other people.
I built a machine that would apply the soothing, comforting contact that I
craved as well as the physical affection I couldn't tolerate when I was young.
I would have been as hard and as unfeeling as a rock if I had not built my
squeeze machine and followed through with its use. The relaxing feeling of
being held washes negative thoughts away I believe that the brain needs to
receive comforting sensory input. Gentle touching teaches kindness.
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I
always thought about cattle intellectually until I started touching them. I was
able to remain the neutral scientist until I placed my hands on them at the
Swift plant and feedlots in 1974. When I pressed my hand against the side of a
steer, I could feel whether he was nervous, angry, or relaxed. The cattle
flinched unless I firmly put my hand on them, but then touching had a calming
effect. Sometimes touching the cattle relaxed them, but it always brought me
closer to the reality of their being.
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People
have a need to touch animals in order to connect with them. I still vividly
remember an experience I had while handling cattle at the Arlington feedlot in
Arizona. We were working them through a squeeze chute to give them
vaccinations. I was operating the chute and giving the animals their
vaccinations. When I gave an injection, I always placed my hand on the animal's
back, which had a calming effect on me. This calmness seemed to be reciprocal,
because when I was calm, the cattle remained calm. I think they sensed this,
and each animal walked quietly into the chute. I mentally asked aim to relax so
he would not get hit by the head restraint. Everything remained calm until the
side of the squeeze chute broke and knocked over a bucket. This got me and all
the cattle completely rattled for the rest of the afternoon. The spell had been
broken.
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Temple
Grandin "Thinking in Pictures" (1996)
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