Graduate designer Alexia Audrain has developed a chair with cocooning, inflatable walls that helps people with autism self-soothe when they are experiencing sensory overload.
Designed to emulate the feeling of being embraced, the Oto chair and its accompanying footrest squeeze the chest and legs via blow-up modules similar to those of a blood pressure monitor.
The Oto chair features inflatable walls that hug the user
This kind of deep pressure therapy has proven beneficial for people with autism, who can struggle with processing sensory information such as noise, light or physical contact, by helping them focus on the limits of their own body.
Normally, this requires help from another person by being tightly held, hugged or pinned to the ground. But with the Oto chair, Audrain hopes to introduce a sense of agency and dignity into the process. A corresponding footrest applies pressure to the legs
"The aim of the chair is to allow as many people as possible to use it autonomously, in order to meet their own sensory needs," she told Dezeen.
"The hug should not be applied as in a restraint device or in psychiatric shock treatment. The user is in a seated position to remain in control of their body and open to the environment so that the hug is a choice."
The walls can be inflated and deflated using a remote
The blow-up modules at the heart of the hugging mechanism can be inflated and deflated via remote control or tablet, which allows users to fine-tune the ...