I am a doctoral mechanical engineering student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where I also received my B.S and M.S. in mechanical engineering.  The focus of my research is exploring and developing design methods and tools to that will lead to new and improved assistive technologies and therapeutic devices for people with mental illness.  To achieve this goal I have worked very closely with mental health care professionals studying the use and application of Deep Pressure Touch Stimulation (DPTS)-the feeling of a firm hug, swaddling or firm petting. DPTS is frequently used with children with autism, ADHD and other pervasive developmental disorders.  The use of DPTS is starting to expand and be used with a wide spectrum of mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders, depression and PTSD to name a few. 

Deep pressure touch is one type of treatment that falls under a broader treatment approach of sensory modulation or sensory integration.  Simply put, the sensations we experience can affect our emotional state (think sad song, smelling your favorite food, or being in a room with really ugly wall paper).  Often the term sensory diet is used when talking about sensory modulation or sensory integration therapy.  Just like our food diet affects our health our sensory diet affects our mental health.

Over the past 4 years I have been researching, with a great team of collaborators, the safety and effectiveness of the use of weighted blankets and weighted vests, to commonly used DPTS application devices.  The work has lead to multiple publications and the invention of a novel DPTS application device.  We have also developed a multi-stakeholder integrated design method to aid in the systematic design and development of assistive technologies for people with mental illness.

Below is a list of publications and presentations related to our research.  We are working hard to complete the data analysis and manuscripts for the 8 clinical studies we have completed.  Also, we currently designing a study to test a weighted vest and our new DPTS vest with a child with autism.