This was a crossover study, wherein the participants had a phone conversation with a partner they had never met in person while either hugging a Hugvie equipped with a mobile phone or using only a mobile phone. The unfamiliar phone partner was a 34-year-old female secretary who was employed by an institution to which some authors belong. She had no specialized professional skills to communicate with individuals with ASD. She was the phone partner in every conversation with participants from both groups. During each session, she initiated the conversation by asking questions based on a specific protocol. The scripts varied slightly across sessions to promote engagement but followed the same basic structure (examples of scripts in S1 File). The phone partner did not know whether the participant was using a Hugvie or only a mobile phone. The ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) [ 40] comprises 18 items that assess inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms on a 4-point scale (0 = never, 1 = sometimes, 2 = often, 3 = very often) and assesses symptom severity over the past week. The total score is calculated by summing the individual scores of the 18 items. After each phone conversation, either using only a mobile phone or the Hugvie, all participants completed questionnaires designed to assess their self-confidence during both conditions. The questionnaires were scored using a Likert rating scale ranging from 0 (not at all comfortable) to 6 (very comfortable). In addition, after completing both trial conditions, all participants answered a yes/no question: “Was it better for you to have a mobile phone conversation while hugging Hugvie compared to only a mobile phone?”

In the literature, tactile input is classified as active touch or passive touch [ 48, 49]. Passive touch involves passively applying a tactile stimulus on the skin without voluntary movement, whereas active touch uses voluntary movement to seek the tactile stimulus, thereby tactile and proprioceptive information generated by the movement are inputted. When an individual is touched passively, they tend to be hypersensitive and cannot focus on the properties of the stimulus [ 50]. Hugvie is an instrument that urges active touch. By actively touching Hugvie, ASD-affected individuals are able to focus on its properties and become comfortable. Given this, it is possible that actively touching the Hugvie (and not passive touch) contributes to the results of this study.Go for a firmer body support pillow to provide extra support and spinal alignment. It's like having your own private chiropractor, right? But if you are more interested in a loyal bodyguard by your side all night – choose the extra firmness. In this way, your spine will be in a neutral position throughout the night, and you will establish quality sleep.

However, try the medium-firm full-body pillows if you are not ready to commit to a super-firm pillow. Lastly, you may prefer a softer, cosier feel. In that case, start with a lower firmness level to relieve pressure. Remember that the choice depends on personal preference. What is the purpose of a body pillow? Tay C, Ang S, Van Dyne L. Personality, biographical characteristics, and job interview success: A longitudinal study of the mediating effects of interviewing self-efficacy and the moderating effects of internal locus of causality. J Appl Psychol. 2006;91: 446–454. pmid:16551195 Scott JG, Lai M-C, Lombardo MV, Pasco G, Ruigrok ANV, Wheelwright SJ, et al. A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions. PLoS ONE. 2011;6: e20835. pmid:21695147 Sheehan DV, Lecrubier Y, Sheehan KH, Amorim P, Janavs J, Weiller E, et al. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): the development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59 Suppl 20: 22–33; quiz 4–57. pmid:9881538 Wodka EL, Puts NAJ, Mahone EM, Edden RAE, Tommerdahl M, Mostofsky SH. The Role of attention in somatosensory processing: a multi-trait, multi-method analysis. J Autism Dev Disord. 2016;46: 3232–3241. pmid:27448580Tatsukawa K, Nakano T, Ishiguro H, Yoshikawa Y. Eyeblink synchrony in multimodal human-android interaction. Sci Rep. 2016; 6: 39718. pmid:28009014 Jaafar NI, Darmawan B, Mohamed MY. Face-to-face or not-to-face: a technology preference for communication. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2014;17: 702–708. pmid:25405782 Fig 1. (a) Hugvie; (b) An individual telecommunicating with a remote person while hugging a Hugvie. Research the filling material – Each of these materials has different levels of firmness and support Tavassoli T, Hoekstra RA, Baron-Cohen S. The Sensory Perception Quotient (SPQ): development and validation of a new sensory questionnaire for adults with and without autism. Mol Autism. 2014;5: 29. pmid:24791196

Wata Danna also keeps up on the latest trends, as evidenced by his skill in performing a textbook kabe-don wall pound, despite not having the long, wavy hair of a shojo manga character. Chang A, O’Modhrain S, Jacob R, Gunther E, Ishii H. ComTouch: design of a vibrotactile communication device. In: New York, NY. Proceedings of Designing Interactive Systems. ACM Press; 2002. pp. 312–320. Wakabayashi A, Baron-Cohen S, Uchiyama T, Yoshida Y, Tojo Y, Kuroda M, et al. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) Children’s Version in Japan: a cross-cultural comparison. J Autism Dev Disord. 2006;37: 491–500.Stress and anxiety make it difficult for people to exercise self-control and concentrate on their communication partners [ 3], and this problem is heightened for individuals with ASD due to their limited ability to exercise self-control. Psychological studies have suggested that tactile sensations increase feelings of comfort during communication [ 4– 7] and that the physical presence of the conversation partner’s body significantly influences the speaker’s perception of the outside world [ 8, 9]. Interactions wherein people touch one another activate the tactile channel in the brain and reduces stress––a known effect of interpersonal touch [ 4]. Given these facts, there is increasing interest in reproducing the psychological effects associated with interpersonal touch by introducing tactile sensations within communication devices. Park M, Chung Y. An emotional comfort product using touch: the possibility. Arch Des Res. 2020;33: 89–103.