43 pages • 1 hour read
Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism
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Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary: “The Squeeze Machine: Sensory Problems in Autism”
Sensory difficulties in autism include the contradiction of touch. Grandin recalls both desiring hugs and an overwhelming sensory reaction to them. She also makes a distinction between pressure and touch: “Many autistic children crave pressure stimulation even though they cannot tolerate being touched. It is much easier for a person with autism to tolerate touch if he or she initiates it” (58). This is another example of sensory processing’s role in the nervous system, which Grandin refers to throughout the book.
The idea for the squeeze machine comes to Grandin when she observes cattle in a calm state following the pressure they experience in a cattle chute. She relates to this need for pressure to reduce anxiety and increase feelings of calm: “When I was six, I would wrap myself up in blankets and get under sofa cushions, because the pressure was relaxing” (58).
With the help of her aunt, Anne Brecheen, Grandin tries out the cattle chute and feels her anxiety subside. “This was the first time I ever felt really comfortable in my own skin” (59). The relaxing effect leads her to create her own form of a squeeze chute—the squeeze machine—that effectively deals with the physiological need for decreasing her anxiety through applied pressure.
Touch is not the only sensory problem area for those with autism. Sensory overload can occur due to sound, such as loud and high-pitch noises, and a difficulty shifting from different sensory stimuli, such as from sight to sound. These difficulties point to the processing of information. Another related issue involves speech, including the ability to attach meaning to words. This is an area that Grandin mentions earlier on as problematic for those with autism. Sight is another potential area of struggle. The brain plays the primary role of processing, and is therefore the area of concern regarding processing difficulties. Visual difficulties can present through lack of eye contact, inability to recognize faces, and sensitivity to certain lighting, among others. “Some of the problems autistics have with making eye contact may be nothing more than an intolerance for the movement of the other person’s eyes” (69). To a lesser extent, some with autism may experience sensitivities to taste and smell, which can include food textures. Smells that go unnoticed to a person without autism may smell overwhelming to a person with autism.
When looking at sensory information processing as a whole, Grandin refers to “sensory mixing” (71), and a lack of self-insight about sensory processing. “People with severe sensory problems have a horrible time trying to figure out what reality is” (72). “Sensory integration” and sensory-based techniques help distinguish and identify sensory information. Strategies include the use of colored-lens glasses, swinging, deep pressure, and brushing, along with other techniques.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Learning Empathy: Emotion and Autism”
Grandin’s experience with the squeeze machine directly applies to her understanding of social relationships, including empathy. She describes herself as “gentler” and “kinder” following the use of the machine, which affects how she interacts with others. “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” (85). This insight extends to her understanding of animals. Grandin describes an experience of touching cattle that creates both a soothing effect on the cattle and an ability to experience the cattle’s emotions.
Touch and pressure, similar to Grandin’s experience with the squeeze machine, offer the same calming effect to animals. She cites the classic study by Harry Harlow that uncovered the importance of “contact comfort” (87) in baby monkeys as one of many examples. Findings of sensory deprivation in animals further highlights the importance of sensory experience. The brain—for both animals and people—is interactive with the environment, and sensory deprivation results in serious outcomes. “Zoo animals kept in barren concrete cages become bored and often develop abnormal behavior such as rocking, pacing, and weaving” (88).
Autism and the capacity for emotion is an area of frequent misunderstanding. Grandin refers to her capacity for emotion, including experiences of happiness, fear, and other basic emotions. She then contrasts these experiences with others, emphasizing the role of intellect in her emotional processing. “My emotions are simpler than those of most people. I don’t know what complex emotion in a human relationship is. I only understand simple emotions, such as fear, anger, happiness, and sadness” (91).
Grandin’s work in animal slaughter facilities encourages dialogue about emotions and empathy. Her logical stance allows her to navigate this part of her job without succumbing to the emotional burden, but she is not without feeling: “I am not just an objective, unfeeling observer; I have a sensory empathy for the cattle. When they remain calm I feel calm, and when something goes wrong that causes pain, I also feel their pain” (94). Grandin draws many connections between her emotional processing and that of animals. One of these similarities is her emotional attachment to place more than people: “Places where I invest a lot of time become emotionally special” (95).
The chapter concludes with Grandin’s thoughts on different forms of empathy, a lack of empathy by those without autism, empathy that occurs on a sensory level, and how to appropriately help children develop empathy. Citing Simon Baron-Cohen’s categories of “empathizers” and “systematizers” (100), she states that she and others with autism often fit the systematizers category. “Empathizers are people who relate to other people through their emotions. Systematizers are people who are more interested in things than people” (100).
Chapters 3-4 Analysis
Distorted perceptions can occur at the sensory processing level for those with autism. Professionals that exclude sensory processing as a cause of problematic behavior negatively uphold a distorted viewpoint. For Grandin, comprehensive understanding of autism cannot occur without primary attention to sensory processing problems. However, historically, professionals choose to view autism through a behavioral rather than sensory lens. “Professionals in the field of educating autistic children have largely ignored sensory problems and favored behavioral theory” (66). Acknowledgement of the role of sensory processing, then, must precede any understanding of many autism-related problems.
Continuing the diversity of autism theme, sensory problems occur in many forms. Similarities exist, but individuals experience different processing difficulties. Sensory processing issues occur from sensitivity to sight, sound, and smell, as well as other senses. For Grandin, being touched was “just too overwhelming. It was like a great, all-engulfing tidal wave of stimulation, and I reacted like a wild animal. Being touched triggered flight; it flipped my circuit breaker” (58). Recognizing the variations of sensory processing difficulties offers greater understanding and explanation of observable behaviors.
On the other hand, the sensory component of autism does not always produce negative results. Grandin, for instance, believes that touch connects her to the emotions of cattle, and to empathy. Through her own development of the squeeze machine for anxiety, she connects her experience of pressure to the cattle’s experience, thereby showing how touch acts not only as a sensory sensitivity, but as a source for relaxation and perspective taking—it has a dual nature of positive and negative functions.
Emotions and empathy play off one another, providing reciprocal support for growth. People with autism, as well as animals, are incorrectly viewed as lacking both emotion and empathy, another misconception that Grandin challenges. Instead, she asserts that expressions of empathy vary: “There are some situations where ‘normal’ people have a horrific lack of empathy. Some of this lack of empathy is beyond my comprehension” (97). Emotions and empathy exist both in people with autism and animals, even if the expression looks different.
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