Fidget Spinners?

[CactusBloom]

I have a spinner and it helps moderately. The only thing is that it can be annoying to other people, so I try to only use it when I'm alone or when the TV is loud enough to cover the noise.

Brought it to my partner's house so I could focus better on the stuff we were watching, but my partner ended up getting distracted by it! Lol. By the way, we are both on the autism spectrum. (I also have ADHD and an anxiety disorder, so stimming helps all 3 of those things for me)

I'm interested in getting a cube or maybe a fidget pen? https://fidgipen.com/pages/the-features-of-the-fidgi-pen

Something more discrete and less loud would be nice. I worry about people judging me for having a spinner.

[Emberfly]

That fidget pen looks really cool.

Now, I've never used a spinner but as a teacher I've seen them.  I'll be honest; I don't get it.  While I know people can really benefit from fidgets, part of me wonders if having fidgets like these that are so mainstream is starting to train people to need constant stimulation?  I mean, for those that don't need them for medical reasons.  A fellow teacher has ADHD and one of his students brought a spinner to class and claimed that she needed it because she had ADHD.  She doesn't.  She has no documented medical anything, much less a reason to need a fidget.  My colleague was not pleased with this and likens it to faking an illness just for the sake of a toy.

So, this push to be popular with the latest fad is leading children to bring them to school to create constant stimulation.  Will it teach their minds and bodies to crave it?  With the current movement about learning mindfulness and teaching children to take time to be still in our crazy busy world, I feel that, unless it truly helps with a medical diagnosis, will it just make kids crave more stimulation?  Or am I just overthinking a fad that will be gone from the schools by next year?  Just food for thought.

[Nemesis]

I have a small collection of spinners... I have Asperger's and severe anxiety, and I like to fiddle with things when I'm bored or watching TV. For me, it works well. We're all different though, so I get why not everyone is into them. I like to try little stunts with the spinners, so it's much more entertaining to me than something like a pen or cube (though I do think those cubes look fun...).

I never play with my spinners in situations where they would be annoying to others--if people would just be more conscious of those around them, maybe silly things like this wouldn't dredge up so much controversy. XP

[Skeen]

I have yet to see one actually used for their intended purpose, so I'm not a fan.  I think you're doing it wrong if you're paying more attention to one of them than to the movie a hundred other people are trying to watch. 

[Emberfly]

I have yet to see one actually used for their intended purpose, so I'm not a fan.  I think you're doing it wrong if you're paying more attention to one of them than to the movie a hundred other people are trying to watch. 

And that brings up another issue with fidgets.  Many people are responsible with them, but many are not.  Fidgets are becoming more accepted as a tool for those who need them to concentrate but sometimes it's at the expense of those around them.  If I'm at church and the sound of your fidget is making me anxious and want to go postal, it's not socially acceptable for me to ask you to put it away or use it quietly because "it's a tool", so now you and your tool has made me unable to enjoy church and I have to leave early.  Or a movie, like Skeen mentioned.  The latest was shopping and the staff member was bouncing a ball everywhere he went.  Guess what, I couldn't stay to shop, I had to leave.  Yes, I rant, and yes, these repetitive distracting noises bother me that much but there's really nothing i can do about it other than remove myself from the fidget.

[Ponyfan]

My Walmart had this endcap full of spinners.

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Fidget Spinner display by LovesBarbie, on Flickr

I saw kids going running over to them, and asking for several different colors before choosing one. You can't see it in the picture but one of the boxes said that these would help those that bite their nails.

They also had light up spinners for a fair price. The light up one might work better for me since I am easily amused by light up stuff. I did give the cube another try when I was starting to feel anxious about something and it helped more this time. 

I also agree that these shouldn't be used when they annoy other people around you. My black spinner makes a soft humming noise that doesn't really bother me but I can see how in place where you're expected to be quiet it could be distracting to others.


Ponyfan

[lostpony]

I'm noticing that almost all of the children who come into the office with their parents now seem to suddenly have these things.  Except for the one hyper kid who could probably really use one of these but actually I can't imagine that it would feed his need for very long....he's as bad as I was as a kid.  Watching him for just one hour makes me wish I could go back and apologize to all the adults that ever got stuck watching me as a kid.

Soon there will be all sorts of recipes for projects to use these things for, after the fad has passed...ways to assemble them into things like moon rovers, sky cities, skateboard wheel spinners and who knows what else....you will be able to mark the end of the fad when the first "design" book with 50 to 100 project ideas to reuse the piles of them laying around gets published.

[alkevin]

It´s fine if they use in the playground. But in class no.

[lostpony]

If they really do work for some kids to focus in class without disrupting others, taking them away is going to end up being a pretty big rights issue and cause a lot of hurt feelings to people who are the most vulnerable.

Summarily confiscating things that help a child do better in study is something I suffered a little bit myself in the 70s before there was a lot of diagnosing of things, and it's not good.  I think some who are more severe than i was and really do need such things have a right to use them discreetly without fear of impoundment.  Which of course is going to end up needing doctor's notes and parent involvement and create an even wider divide of rights enjoyed between those who have involved parents and good medical help compared to those who struggle without such luxuries like neglected foster children or parents who are too busy working or neglectful etc.

[EnaRocketQueen]

I bought a fidget spinner from my local market and I'm surprised how addictive it is! I only bought it because it was cheap, and I'm really glad I did because it's really useful.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

I don't have one, but I think it's really nice for people who can use them to concentrate easier.

What angers me is since now it's a "fad" among kids who don't need them, some schools/teachers are banning them and that screws over the kids who do need them. I hate it when people misuse things and then people who need those things can no longer use them.

[Koudoawaia]

So I've seen them in person now and am still unimpressed lol.

[Ponyfan]

Now they're advertising the cubes on national TV. I saw an ad like this on Disney earlier today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj2Nn0iEOI4


Ponyfan

[melodys_angel]

My fiancé got one and showed it to me yesterday.

Its..interesting?  I was really annoyed at the sound when he was fiddling with it though..and it doesn't help me vs me playing with my jewelry or tumbling something in my hand.  I guess I need something tactile.

[Stormness_1]

My hubby bought one after he got one for our niece the other week and became addicted. Now he has one, and I kind of want one. Clawing at things and my skin with my fingernails is my annoying habit, and I wonder if I'd curb it if I had something to fidget with while I'm sitting around? I don't do it when I'm gaming using my 3DS, as I use both hands, but when I'm online or using my kindle I mostly only use one hand and I get pretty destructive with my long claws!