Many people use hand fidgets to relieve stress and anxiety, to help focus, or just for plain fun. Stress balls, putty, and anything squishy and squeezy are helpful because they’re soothing, calming, and enjoyable to fidget with. Sensory items have helped people of all ages, from adults sitting at a desk at work to children in classrooms.
I’m an occupational therapist and recommending/providing sensory items to teachers and parents is something I regularly do (for use at home or in the classroom).
Fidgets are especially useful in helping children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with self-regulation. Hand fidgets can help manage anxiety, improve attention/ability to focus, or even help children calm down when dealing with a surge of emotions such as extreme anger or frustration. Children on the autism spectrum can benefit from fidgeting, especially when they are stimming or engaging in hand flapping.
I own a sensory toy subscription box geared for children on the autism spectrum, so it’s literally my job to find unique and awesome toys to include in my monthly subscription. Below I share some of the most popular items in past boxes and where you can find them yourself. The items below are enjoyable to play with, yet calming and therapeutic!
1. The Original Fidget Reversible Sequin Hand Fidget
This is a very unique fidget that is both fun and calming. Made with high quality reversible sequin fabric, children can run their fingers over the sequins to flip them back and forth to change the colors. There’s also an elastic strap on the back to hold it in place while playing with it. This hand fidget is additionally wonderful because it’s visually calming and gives nice tactile input to the fingertips.
2. Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty
This is perfect to use as a hand fidget to help children self-regulate. Squeeze, pull, roll, and squish this putty to help manage anxiety or use it as a calming tool. Manipulating putty can also be a great way to help a child focus or maintain attention. Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty has many different colors; however, the Persian Emerald is visually stimulating because of its bright, shimmering color.
If your child needs to work on improving fine motor skills or hand strength, a great activity to do with this putty is hide small items (such as beads) inside the putty and ask your child to dig through to “find” and pull them out.
This gives a fantastic workout to the hands as it works on strengthening the small muscles. This thinking putty retails at approximately $14 per tin; however, they do sell smaller “mini” tins which are less expensive.
3. Play Foam
Fun tactile play! Roll, squish, squash, sculpt, and squeeze this strange, but fun textured bubbly foam. Use it to help manage anxiety/anger as squeezing it is very calming and therapeutic. It won’t dry out or make a mess in your house (plus it’s easy to clean up).
4. Spaghetti Ball
This sensory fidget has the sensation of “noodles” dripping through your fingers and has a very interesting texture to it. Enjoy pulling, squeezing, tossing, and stretching it. Use it as a calming stress reliever, something to hold to keep restless hands busy, or just for pure sensory fun.
5. Squishy Stress Relief Balls
Smoosh, squeeze, stretch, pull, toss, and bounce these fun stress balls. These balls are strong, durable, and safe for kids (and parents…you may find yourself using them as well!). Perfect for the classroom, home, or to bring on the go. This item can help promote a sense of calm, reduce stress/anxiety, and increase focus/attention.
Great to use as a warm up activity prior to fine motor work or handwriting to help “wake up” the small muscles of the hand. Made with 100 percent high quality thermoplastic rubber, they are hypoallergenic, nontoxic, and free of BPAs, phthalates, and latex.
6. Stretchy Mice and Cheese
Squeeze, stretch, and push the little mice through the holes and pull them back out again! This cute fidget toy helps with fine motor coordination, hand strengthening, and is a great stress reliever. Plus, it has such a nice texture and feel to it (it’s hard to put down once you pick it up!).
7. Tactile Tiger Hand Fidget
This sensory brush has a bristled tactile surface on one side and a raised tiger design on the other, making both sides useful to sensory seekers. This brush is a nice way to provide extra tactile stimulation if your child craves tactile input or is a “sensory seeker.” Kids may enjoy running their fingers over the bristles or running the brush over their hands/arms/legs.
This brush is simply intended as a way to provide tactile input and as a fidget tool to help with self-regulation. It’s not intended to replace a brushing program or sensory diet, so if you have any questions about integrating this item into your child’s everyday life, check with your child’s occupational therapist (if he/she is currently receiving therapy). This brush is also made with FDA approved material so it can be used as an oral motor tool (for moderate chewers).
8. Abilitations Squash It
Each Squash is a visually pleasing, different, two-tone color. Keep it in a pocket, desk, school bag, or purse. They can travel or stay at home. Hold them vertically and then turn them upside down to watch the colors swirl or work the colors back and forth through the narrow chamber for a great finger workout. This is a silent fidget, so it’s especially great to use in the classroom (as it’s not distracting to others.) These are latex-free and filled with a non-toxic mineral oil fluid.
9. Spiky Slap Bracelets
These strong and durable bracelets have soft rubber spikes that offer tactile stimulation. They’re perfect for kids to wear so they can touch and feel the texture of the soft spikes for sensory input. It also makes a subtle clicking noise which children find appealing and calming.
In a school setting, they’re ideal to lay flat on a desk to touch when needing to refocus. Made with high quality silicone rubber, they are hypoallergenic, nontoxic, and free of BPAs, phthalates, and latex.
10. Wacky Tracks
This is a favorite, highly rated fidget toy. It bends in many directions to create endless shapes and makes a satisfying “clicking” noise as each link is moved. Wacky Tracks is a great hand fidget to use at home, in public settings, or during car rides.
If you are looking to develop your own anti-stress toys or start importing/ distribute these, get in touch with us at through our website www.bci-ltd.com
This article originally appeared: https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/fidget-toys-to-relieve-stress-anxiety/
