Project and Background Information about Autism Treatment Center
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong development disability that impacts the way people with ASD behave, communicate, and interact with their surroundings throughout their life [1].
The Autism Treatment Center (ATC) is a private, nonprofit corporation that has been assisting people with Autism in the Dallas community since 1976. The organization was formed by a group of six parents who wanted to provide treatment and support to their adult children with ASD who were no longer eligible for the care they had previously received as children. The mission of the ATC is to offer people a safe and comfortable environment in which to live and develop life skills [2]. The organization includes numerous programs that each target a distinct need for autistic children and adults such as residential, educational, adult, applied behavioral analysis therapy, general therapy, and community awareness services.
Sensory Devices Project Description:
The ATC handles a lot of patients who experience sensory overload (when a highly stimulating sensory stimulus overwhelms an individual’s ability to manage). The sensory cuff ultimately provides relief and comfort from overstimulation through deep pressure stimulation. Deep pressure has been shown to reset an individual’s proprioceptive sense (the ability to establish one’s spatial orientation by recognizing one’s position and maintaining balance).
The Sensory Cuff is a remote-controlled inflatable air bladder (controlled by smartphone app) that is designed to provide deep pressure stimulation to a user’s upper arm, thus providing relief from overstimulation, other sensory issues, and resetting their proprioceptive sense, without physical human contact. This will thus allow patients to experience sensations that may be overwhelming and unpleasant in a safe and familiar environment.
We are working with ATC for two projects, namely Sensory Devices and the Data Collection Application.
The ATC Sensory Cuff’s project partner, Dr. Carolyn Garver, is the program director at ATC Dallas. Dr. Garver is a recognized expert on autism and has sought to improve the way sensory overstimulation is managed in people with ASD [3].
CITATIONS:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, December 9). What is autism spectrum disorder?. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html
- Autism Treatment Center. (2015). About Autism & ATC. ATC. https://www.atcoftexas.org/aboutatc.html
- Bestbier, L., & Williams, T. I. (2017). The Immediate Effects of Deep Pressure on Young People with Autism and Severe Intellectual Difficulties: Demonstrating Individual Differences. Occupational therapy international, 2017, 7534972. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7534972