Do fidget toys work for adults with ADHD?
Note: To those using a screen reader, I’m working on improving my alt text descriptions for the images.
Image description: ADHD fidget toys, Fidget Gamer Pad, Tangle, and Fidget cube, placed on a white table.
Fidget toys are for adults with ADHD as much as they’re for kids. A couple of weeks ago, I received a tweet from one of my followers on twitter asking whether I had experience using fidget toys to improve focus. I hadn’t, so I shared the tweet and asked my followers to share any recommendations they had. To my surprise, a lot of ADHDers responded with suggestions and pictures of their fidget toys. You can check it out here.
I scrolled through the suggestions and ended up purchasing the fidget cube, the fidget gamer pad and the tangle from Amazon. I’ve had my fidget toys for about a month now and they’ve been pretty useful for my ADHD Combined Type brain.
Tangle
Image description: An ADHD fidget toy in the packaging called ‘Tangle’. The tangle is silver metallic and is in the shape of a coil with detachable pieces.
The Tangle is hands down my favourite fidget toy! You can twist it, detach and reattach the pieces, and also wear it as a bracelet if you fancy it!
I’ve been using the tangle whilst working from home (due to COVID) at my desk. The tangle has helped me to concentrate when reading through lengthy pieces of information in an email or in a document. I fiddle with it whilst parsing through sentences, trying to digest the information. Using the tangle has helped me to resist the urge to constantly leave my desk (hyperactive trait) and has also increased my ability to sustain attention (inattentive trait).
Fidget gamer pad
Image description: An image of the fidget gamer pad placed in the palm of a hand. The fidget gamer pad is in the shape of a games console, there are 4 circle buttons on the right, and a toggle on the left.
I purchased the fidget gamer pad after someone in the ADHD community shared a picture in the thread and I thought it looked cool!
The colourful buttons on the fidget gamer pad help me to stop daydreaming during video meetings, whilst watching TV and if I’m honest, whilst I’m on a phone call. Obsessively clicking on the buttons really wakes my brain up!
Fidget cube
Image Description: A 4 squared picture grid displaying different sides/features of the fidget cube. The first square includes the side with a spin, the second square includes the side with 4 small buttons, the third square includes the side with a switch button, the fourth square includes the side with safe combination lock buttons.
The fidget cube seems to be one of the most popular fidget toys given the replies to the twitter thread. I have to admit, I’ve only used it twice. I think it’s because I’ve found that the tangle and fidget gamer pad really works for me so I haven’t felt the need to try it out. However, there are lots of different features on the fidget cube to fiddle with!
So there you have it, fidget toys work for adults with ADHD. However, fidget toys might not work for everyone, but it seems like a fair amount of people feel that they come in handy.
Rach, with ADHD