Fidget Spinners

[sdp]

Exactly, I had plenty teachers who liked Bugs Bunny or Disney characters but they didn't like the cool stuff of the 90s for example so I thought of them as weird. Sure I liked Bugs and Mickey I guess but they didn't compare to Power Rangers or Zelda.

But yeah even in High School my French teacher watched Toon Disney and loved Kim Possible, making constant Kim Possible references in her class. My Physics teacher was also a big nerd and loved Star Wars, Lord of the Ring, D&D among other things. He had a huge bookshelf in his class full of sci-fi novels.

I'm sure it's more prominent now though since geek culture is officially mainstream and has been for all of the 2010's so your average Joe who is a jock but walking around with his TMNT shirt, this sorority girl with a Captain America logo and so on. I personally don't like it but most of the geek community has learned to embrace it while the ones that don't have gone further in their nooks like the MLP fandom.

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by ProphetofGanja

Nobody "needs" a fidget spinner

You're right, but there are delusional people out there who think that these things are useful no matter how much you tell them otherwise.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

You're right, but there are delusional people out there who think that these things are useful no matter how much you tell them otherwise.

They might be, who knows? I know some of my friends tell me it helps them with their anxiety. Who am I to disagree. Why waste time 'telling them otherwise'? Let them be.

[BubblyShell22]

Good for them if it helps them.

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

They might be, who knows? I know some of my friends tell me it helps them with their anxiety. Who am I to disagree. Why waste time 'telling them otherwise'? Let them be.

I'm not denying that devices like this can help people with excess enervy or anxiety, I'm simply saying that there are better alternatives. A fidget cube seems like a much better option than a spinner because it's quieter, less distracting to others, and can be used more inconspicuously, even in one's pocket.

[plastroncafe]

Nobody needs them, but they are effective.

Which is it?

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

Nobody needs them, but they are effective.

Which is it?

I like dessert, I like listening to music, I feel better when I have/do these things. Does that mean I need them? No.

As I said, there are better therapeutic options for those that fidget or suffer from anxiety. Sometimes the best option is just to learn some willpower and self-control

[plastroncafe]

So...I could just choose not to have anxiety or depression or ptsd if I just had more willpower?

And my wearing glasses, that's akin to just choosing not to have dessert one night? I mean, I don't really "need" distance vision.

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

So...I could just choose not to have anxiety or depression or ptsd if I just had more willpower?

And my wearing glasses, that's akin to just choosing not to have dessert one night? I mean, I don't really "need" distance vision.

No, those are things you probably want to treat with medication, although there are other options as well. It's something best handled on a case by case basis. I have worked with many children with all three of those diagnoses.

Needing glasses is not a good analogie. At a certain point people have to learn coping skills to handle the real world. The world will not always bend over backwards to accommodate you, sometimes you have to learn to adjust to the real world. I'm not saying that's fair, I'm just saying that it's not wise to have your only strategy be to expect everyone else to adjust to yur specific needs

[plastroncafe]

Just so you're aware going forward:
You're currently conversing with an adult who has a current diagnosis of all three. So you may wish to choose your words a little more carefully going forward.

And I think glasses are a pretty apt comparison.
Any sort of anxiety aid is as much of a crutch as my glasses are.
Not required for life, but boy do they sure make things a whole lot easier.

No one says to a person with a busted leg that they can't use crutches. That maybe if they just had some self-control, or maybe some
willpower, moving about the world would be easier for them, so why do people insist on saying the same thing to non-neurotypical people?

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

Just so you're aware going forward:
You're currently conversing with an adult who has a current diagnosis of all three. So you may wish to choose your words a little more carefully going forward.

And I think glasses are a pretty apt comparison.
Any sort of anxiety aid is as much of a crutch as my glasses are.
Not required for life, but boy do they sure make things a whole lot easier.

No one says to a person with a busted leg that they can't use crutches. That maybe if they just had some self-control, or maybe some
willpower, moving about the world would be easier for them, so why do people insist on saying the same thing to non-neurotypical people?

Well then with complete earnestness, I hope you have found a means of treatment that works effectively for you. I know that finding the right balance of medications can be very difficult as different people respond to them in different ways.

Again, I'm not arguing against the use of therapeutic aids. We have definitive evidence that glasses help people see better. Crutches have been around even longer than glasses. We have an ever-growing body of evidence that psychotropic drugs can improve the mental health and quality of life of people suffering from psychiatric diagnoses (of which I am also a member, as it so happens), especially in conjunction with some form of counseling.

My expertise is with ADHD in children. Evidence has shown that there can be some benefit from having some type of additional activity to engage in to "soak up" excess mental energy while focusing on something (such as sitting in class and paying attention to a lesson), but that activity cannot be so engrossing as to absorb too much attention otherwise then you're just distracted, which defeats the whole purpose. Additionally, that activity should not be distracting to other students trying to pay attention.

ADHD is also unique because many aspects of our way of life are changing in such a way that can exacerbate the condition. The way we consume media and interact with technology, for example. This is why I always advise parents to regulate their children's screentime on electronic devices and to turn them off an hour or so before bed so that the mind has time to quiet down and relax.

My whole point is that we should use evidence to make our decisions. There have been many treatments that were thought to be effective back in the day, and maybe even were to some extent, but we've replaced them with more effective/less intrusive options as time goes on. I think spinners will prove to be just a fad. I see fidget cubes as having more staying power. But again, while someone may find a fidget cube beneficial, it's also not necessary. You could get the same amount of benefit from some other small talisman you can fit in your pocket and surreptitiously manipulate. I used to bring a die or a lucky coin to school every day so I could turn it over and over in my pocket without bothering anyone and it helped me focus. Sometimes I would draw in class while I listened to the teacher lecture, but sometimes they would accuse me of not paying attention. They would ask me a question and I would have to prove that I was focused by answering correctly. Some teachers learned to stop questioning me, some didn't. Alternatively, sometimes I would tap beats on my desk with a pencil or my hand, but this was not an ideal coping strategy as it disturbed others and typically annoyed my teachers. So to scratch that itch I just joined the drumline.

All I'm saying is there are better options than playing with a toy in class

[plastroncafe]

Thanks, but I don't use medication to treat my symptoms. I find talk therapy and physical activity provide me with adequate control over my symptoms.

I agree that there can be better options, what I disagree with is the absolute argument that no one needs a thing. Or no one can benefit from a thing.

Some people do, and can.

[sdp]

I find it extremely hard to concentrate and would likely be able to be diagnosed with some sort of ADD. In classes I sometimes bring hand grippers to keep my concentration and not wonder too much which I still do but whatever, It's not something I feel I can't control myself.

As posted earlier, there are many alternatives for people with disorders and experts themselves call out fidget spinners for giving the other clinically proven devices a bad name. I'm sorry but taking your fidget spinners is not the issue here, the issue is people whining about unnecessary things and there are alternatives that work better. I just wrote about fidget spinners if you're interested I go into a little more detail. They are distracting and you can't argue that helping one kid concentrate is worth having all the kids surrounding him get distracted as well.

It's only a fad and everyone including the "needy" will forget about them in a year. And kids who really want to will continue to bring them to school. I mean lets remember when Tamagotchi, Pokemon Cards or finger boards were banned in our schools, did that stop us from bringing them? no, we were just more discrete with them. If people had this digital soap box back then would we really whine that we can't have pogs in school and find some excuse as to why we should?

Again I don't really care if people actually take them but to say that banning them is some type of social war against people with disorders is a long stretch. You need to be aware of others, it's not all about the individual. Live and let die

[ProactiveMan]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Teachers are people too you know.

That was a revelation to me when I was younger. I was always quite intimidated by teachers when I was at school. They felt like superior beings in some way. As I got older, people in my peer group became teachers, or I met people who were teachers, and it dawned on me that my teachers were just chuds like me and my friends. And what's more, although they were on a pretty high rung on the social ladder compared to the kids they were teaching, in the wider word... not so much.

On fidget toys: I had a moment of realisation a couple of days ago. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a problem with anxiety that I manage with cognitive behavioural exercises. I didn’t see the connection between fidgeting to be honest, and I thought these toys were hella stupid. I was talking to some people at work however, and I caught myself playing with a whiteboard marker. I thought about it, and it turns out that I fidget with things to relieve stress all the time. That’s how I got into drawing – I doodled in class because it helped me concentrate, and I still do it in meetings and on the phone. I was in a meeting last week and I didn’t want to doodle on the paper I had with me, so I repeatedly disassembled and reassembled my ballpoint pen.

The worst kind of interactions for me nowadays are out in the open, and I wonder if it’s the lack of things to fiddle with. I noticed that I gesticulate with my fingers when I’m talking which somehow helps me keep track of what I’m saying. If I’m just standing still, I concentrate too hard on not looking stupid that I can’t always keep my train of thought.

Completely anecdotally, the fidget concept seems legit to me now. I will say that I think it would be better not to rely on a device, and I’m not happy that I need to fidget to keep an even keel. It’s a salve, and it doesn’t really address the core issue. I worry that atrophy sets in when you make your life too easy, and comfort makes you less tolerant. You have to know your own limits though, so if this isn’t helpful to you then ignore me.

[BubblyShell22]

I think something like a stress ball or a fidget cube would help more for people to focus on things rather than a fidget spinner. That's the whole point of this. There are other methods and maybe people need to realize that this type of tool really isn't a tool and is just a fad that everyone is going to latch on to and then forget about in a year or two.

[DisKosh]

I haven't got a fidget spinner but I recently bought a fidget cube (or a knock-off version) for to use in work and it's been great so far. I have Asperger's so my focus tends to drift and I fidget.

The place I notice it most though is church because it requires sitting down and listening to someone for half an hour. It's not the minster's fault, I always find sermons interesting but it's difficult to keep focus which is cause for concern because I'm going back to university in a few months and I'd like to be able to focus on the lectures.

I genuinely think my fidget cube will help and many features on it are silent so they won't distract anyone else. Often in work, I just fiddle with it with my hand in my pocket so it's very discreet.

[BubblyShell22]

That's a handy tool and as long as it doesn't distract anybody, I think that's a good thing as it's discreet enough to put in your pocket. I don't know if you can do this with a fidget spinner, but if people could put it in their pocket, that would be better.

[TurtleWA]

I remember back in school when spinning/spun meant a whole different thing. I kind of want to try one of these fidget things. Looks like it could be a little entertaining.

[DestronMirage22]

Wow, 7 pages and currently 139 posts about these dumb little Spinners.
When's the water bottle flip thread?

[Netkeeper]

I think I want to get one that's extremely distracting in some way [louder, lights up, some other attention-grabbing feature] just to make people that dont like them angry