We live in an era of anxiety. We often can’t stay focused during meetings or pay attention in class due to boredom or nervousness. This can often lead to unwanted habits such as nail-biting, skin picking, or leg shaking. In children with autism, staying focused often leads to fidgeting: tapping their feet, wiggling around in their seats, or playing with their pen.
This is why fidget spinners, fidget toys, or stimming toys exist. Fidget spinners are small self-regulation tools used by occupational therapists to provide fun sensory input and assist in self-regulation. They are often used to destress, reduce anxiety, and increase concentration. In addition, these toys target motor skills like stretching muscles in hand.
Continue Reading: 10 Best Sensory Toys for Children with Autism.
What Are Fidget Toys?
Fidget toys are designed to pop, spin, or have buttons to click that keep your hands busy. They are small self-regulating toys that come in a variety of color, size, style, and movement options. It depends on the fidgeting needs.
It’s best to keep in mind that a limited amount of evidence supports the effectiveness of fidget toys on mental well-being. However, anecdotal evidence shows that some people find fidget tools helpful.
What Is the Purpose of Fidget Toys?
The purpose of fidget toys is to allow people with autism to engage in repetitive actions that help focus the mind. An advocacy organization for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, CHADD, states that using a fidget toy helps people solve problems and remember information.
Fidget toys come in different forms, such as stress balls, putty, or anything squishy and squeezy. They are soothing, calming, and enjoyable. Even adults with autism or anxiety can use them when sitting at a desk at work.
People with autism have sensory integration dysfunction that causes them to be overwhelmed by their surroundings. In some cases, children with ASD engage in self-stimulation or “stimming” behavior to combat sensory overload. Some children engage in self-stimulation to gain more sensory information.
Here are some common autism stimming behaviors:
- Humming
- Rocking
- Hand flapping
- Pacing
- Bouncing
- Verbally repeating words and phrases
- Staring at objects
- Tiptoe walking
- Rubbing the skin
- Twirling hair or self
Who Needs Fidget Toys?
Many occupational therapists found that children with autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other neurodevelopmental conditions can benefit from fidget toys. The logic behind it is that enjoyable activities are linked to pleasure responses. As a result, it releases the hormone dopamine and norepinephrine (which regulates sleep and alertness) to increase attention and concentration.
How Do Fidget Toys Help?
Fidget toys help children with autism with self-regulation and managing anxiety. It improves attention and ability to focus. It also helps children with autism calm down during an extreme surge of emotions like frustration and anger. Furthermore, fidgeting simulates neural pathways, which improves tactile awareness.
Best Fidget Toys for Autism
Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty
This putty can be pulled, rolled, and squished, helpful in managing anxiety, or used as a calming tool. Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty is a great way to help a child focus and self-regulate. The putty comes in different colors.
Manipulating putty helps improve fine motor skills or hand strength. A fun activity you can try is to put a small object into the putty and ask your child to dig through the putty. The putty is approximately $14 per tin.
Koosh Ball
Koosh balls provide tremendous squishy fun. It can act as a stress ball, easy to pick and hard to put down. The best part is that it comes in various vibrant colors and is ageless; anyone can enjoy the Koosh balls.
It’s suitable for different activities in the classroom, in a creative training room, or at home. It contains natural latex rubber and can pose a choking hazard for children under three years old.
Jumbo Fidget Toy
This toy is bigger than most, but it’s durable and reusable. The popping sounds might be distracting, but the toy has 100 bubbles that will keep boredom and fidgeting at a minimum. The colors of the toy are soothing for children with ADHD and autism.
The toy is made from silicone, so it’s safe and durable for children. You can wash it as often as you need without worrying about breaking the toy.
Dodecagon
This fidget toy is recommended for all ages. It’s a 12-sided cube, and, despite its look, it’s lightweight and pocket-sized. The Dodecagon is suitable for autistic children who have multiple ways to fidget. The cube has plenty of tools to keep hands and fingers busy, such as an integrated stress ball, gears, a joystick, and switches.
Some functions are noisy, so the Dodecagon is not great for the classroom. Furthermore, it might be too much for some children and has too many options, causing distraction instead of focus.
Gnawrishing Chair Bands
Gnawrishing provides natural latex chair bands that fit around the legs of school desks and chairs. This toy helps children focus by pressing their legs and feet against the band. However, you can use it at home if you want it.
It’s easy to install and remove and is made with 100% non-toxic materials manufactured by professional factories.
Rainbow Anti-Anxiety Fidget Spinner
This fidget spinner is made from durable stainless steel and has a flashy, colorful design when spinning. It creates a beautiful rainbow effect. In addition, it has a long spin time, making it an effective fidget toy—it will keep your child’s attention for many hours.
The toy has a carrying case for easy transportation and more than 900 excellent reviews. It’s clearly a favorite among people.
Spaghetti Stretchy Strips
This unique fidget toy feels like noodles dripping through your fingers. It offers a unique and interesting texture. The child will enjoy squeezing, tossing, pulling, and stretching the ball as it provides an excellent stress reliever. It’s a toy that keeps hands busy—and it’s fun overall!
Tangle Jr. Sensory Toy
Suitable for young kids, this tangle is easy to clean and brightly colored. It offers multiple textured surfaces that keep restless fingers occupied. In addition, it’s a good therapeutic option for soothing tired fingers and joints from long writing assignments.
You can easily wash the plastic tubes with soap and water.
Pop Tubes
The pipes offer tactical stimulation by bending them and connecting them to one another. In addition, the colorful tubes deliver a sound and action your little one will find engaging. Stretch them, push them together, or connect them for extra fun.
The tubes are easy to handle for toddlers since they’re lightweight and portable. However, the popping noise can be rather loud for children with auditory sensory challenges.
Small Fish Infinity Cube Fidget Toy
A child can easily carry this cube and hold it in one hand. However, it cannot be disassembled and doesn’t offer many sensory experiences. On the bright side, it provides limitless reconfiguration possibilities and a discreet way to fidget at home.
It offers a source of constant movement for children and adults alike. Crafted with durable ABS plastic blocks, it has stainless steel rivets for durability. You can use it as much as you can without fearing it will break.