Fridays are the day that I will share a news article that I find interesting, or I will share a product or book review with you. All of my reviews will be personally recommended and something that I or someone in my family has read or used personally.
First up for a product review is The Ultimate Fidget sold by Sensory University. I purchased mine on Amazon for $14.99. I got it for my son and he's taking it for a test drive this week. According to the company's description "This toy was actually designed by a person who suffers from ADHD. Soon his friends wanted them, then their friends wanted them, then their children wanted them. The creator of this toy approached The Sensory University with his creation and it has quickly become one of our top sellers." It can also help to ease anxiety.
Let me just start by saying my son is a wiggler. He has been for as long as I can remember. He's now 17 and still moves constantly when sitting "still". He will chew on his pencil erasers, chew on his pencils, snap a rubberband on his wrist, pick at a mosquito bite on his arm, tap is foot, tap his desk, chew on his lip, shake his knee...you get the picture. If there's something that can be moved, he's moving it. When he was younger I used to tell him to "bounce on the inside". Some teachers were able to ignore his constant wiggle, others have literally freaked out and called me mid-class to talk to him. (Ok, one teacher did this-but really? It was one too many.)
I get it! I am very similar. I learned a long time ago that my best phone conversations happen when I am pacing, in a circle, while on my phone. I've actually turned on my Strava app while on a conference call to see how many "miles" I can walk in 2 hours! It's like a little movement makes our brains work better. Are any of you with me on that?! There's nothing wrong with this, I'd even venture to say it's a learning style-I mean really, it is. We're both kinesthetic learners. He is my super creative, very talented, right brained child. When he was younger he did musical theater and was SO GOOD! People still tell me how funny he was. He can sing, and play the guitar, rap and play the piano and has made me incredible ceramic bowls thrown on a wheel, AND he wiggles. Me too. We both have the attention span of gnats.
So, I gave hime the fidget ring. I told him what it was and to give it a test drive. His eyes lit up! Maybe it was the newness, or the novelty, but he was like "this is cool. I like it." He played around with what to do with it and ended up googling it to see if there was a better way to flip it around. He took it to school the next day. After a week of use, he's told me it helps. It gives him something to do in class that is mindless. It occupies the part of his brain that needs to be in motion, which has allowed him to focus more on what is actually being said in class. A magic bullet? No. But an option that can be helpful? Yes!
I'd love to hear are your a fidgeter?! What do you do to keep moving?
