I just finished a long and insanely stressful sensory overload appointment to deal with some government paperwork stuff, and I realized partway in that I could REALLY use something unobtrusive to stim with. Anybody have good recommendations for something small enough to slip into my purse and that wouldn’t look far too awkward to use in a public environment dominated by neurotypical people? (I’m not concerned about looking a little awkward, lol, that ship sailed a long time ago)
Saw someone mention spinner rings
Just a ring you can wear and discreetly spin
Hmm, that could be an option - will look into it, thanks :)
This was going to be my suggestion! And a ring is great because it’s always with you, no bag or purse needed.
Pen and paper pad? Look serious like you are taking notes but you are doodling dinosaur battles.
If you search for “haptic fidget” on etsy there’s a bunch of small, unobtrusive ones. If you like two pieces of 3D printed things you can slide around with magnets. My favourite is embedded with rolley balls on the outsides but there’s all types of them.
I’m a huge fan of https://fidgetland.com/flipit-fidgets/ — they’re quite small, and can be entirely unnoticeable if you get the nearly-silent “Stephie” version and your hands aren’t in plain view. 🙂 I keep a few different ones in different places!
Oh damn, even just looking at the photos of these I already want to fiddle with them! Definitely gotta order one now haha, tysm for the rec
A well balanced retractable ballpoint pen. The type with aluminum body. I can make it rotate on my hand, and push the button really quick to help me focus. The trick is to push the button but not fully, in order to not produce any noise that could annoy people around you.
Amazon has a few boxes of various things for $15-25. Could grab one of those and it would probably have a couple of things for you.
My favorite is pop its!
For me, even before I knew I was autistic, the answer has always been a pen and doing pen spinning with it. Nobody is surprised you have a pen, and when your stim is spinning not only do people not give you a hard time, sometimes they’re actually impressed and ask you to teach them.
I’m not sure if this would be something you’re interested in but if you get a cheap 3D printer there are tons of very interesting free fidget devices on thingiverse. We’ve made a ton of them.
Are there any in particular you would recommend? I know a friend who has a 3d printer who I could probably ask for a favour, but I wouldn’t know where to start…
i have a soft leather keychain that i clip to whatever bag i’m using, it’s not overly fidgety but it is a pleasant sensation
I can vouch for The Thinket! It’s a bit on the pricey side, but once it arrived, I immediately bought a second one. Feels just great!
Very cheap and also cool because you can find the perfect one for you yourself: a smooth rock. I keep one in most of my jacket pockets and it’s great to fidget with on the go, it also doesn’t make any sounds like some fidget toys do. No one will ever know.
