DIY toys

[psychotopsy]

Hello everyone!

I have just recently become aware of the high likelihood of me having asperger's. And I haven't really thought of this before but now that I am more aware of it, I think I would highly benefit from something like a stimming toy. I always repetitively screw my pens apart and put them back together in class which results in my pens flying in all types of directions and falling and along with the leg shaking, it annoys the people around me. As I am relatively new to this, I don't know if what I do is stimming. Is it?
Either way, I think I need something to occupy my hands with so that I don't break all my pens. The thing is, I don't know where to get one. I don't have easy access to those fancy online shops specialised in such things. So are there some DIY toy ideas you guys have? Or some everyday items that I could buy in regular stores that work as such toys? I tried to search it in this forum and I didn't find a topic about that but I'm sorry if I missed something. Anyway, I think lots of people might find it useful so if you know some resources or ideas, feel free to share them or post a link.

 

[Datura]

Off the top of my head I have a few suggestions.

Try going to an office supply store to get a stress toy. These are soft but firm toys you can squeeze. They are generally balls, but come in other shapes as well.

Try buying silly putty from a toy store.

Find key chains with moving parts or interesting textures.

Chew gum (if that is allowed in your class.)

Bubble wrap

Elastic bands

Toys with moving parts (small transformers spring to mind)

Some of these ideas may be more social acceptable than others.

 

[Nanda]

I play with any ring i have one, or a elastic band. I think the ideias Datura presented are very good.

 

[James Dunn]

I have a very fine thread bolt in a sleeve I screw up and down a lot.

I also have a thick piece of elastic I use to stretch and compress.

my last one is a stress ball from 3 balloons filled with rice flour

 

[Tom]

To stop the leg shaking try crossing your legs. You can also do the same with your arms which tucks the hands away. In class it would be better to focus on the subject/work and save the stimming for your free time/alone etc.

 

[watersprite]

I also as an above post mentioned, have several bolts with nuts from the hardware store, and another favorite of mine is - I don't know what it's called, but it is the swivel connector clip-thing that you can open and close with your thumb for a dog leash or on some horse bridles. I just love little metal things with moving parts. Go to the hardware store and look around for toys. That is my suggestion.

 

[Datura]

In class it would be better to focus on the subject/work and save the stimming for your free time/alone etc.

While I kind of agree, stimming can improve some people's concentration. Ideally you would use something that you can absentmindedly play with using your free hand while you work. You also want to avoid things that can easily get away from you, like the aforementioned exploding pens.

It's also important to remember that some people might find certain stimms distracting, or just odd. The sound of bubble wrap might get on people's nerves. Conventional toys might raise some eyebrows in a classroom or work situation. Stress balls and trinkets, on the other hand, are fairly innocuous.

 

[zurb]

Be careful about body language – crossing arms and legs to reduce stimming can be (or rather, probably will be) interpreted as defiant or aggressive behaviour.
Stimming that creates noise will also not be appreciated in many classrooms (at least when I was a kid).

 

[On the Inside]

Sitting in a classroom was rough on me because of my need to stim. For some reason, I was always very self conscious about my stimming, so I did things that I thought were very unnoticeable and not noisy. Run my fingernails along the seams of my clothes, play with my eyebrows, that sort of thing. Mostly I used what is called a "kneaded eraser", which is like Silly putty but is a very effective eraser. You can shape it, sculpt it, squish it, knead it, roll it into a perfect ball, and erase your mistakes with it. They are cheap, available at art supply stores and I like the way they smell, too.

There is always doodling/sketching, though some teachers might consider it disrespectful or that you are not paying attention. I for one am paying a great deal more attention when I am doodling than when I'm not, and being extremely visual, I find the drawings helped with my retention. I was lucky that none of my teachers were concerned or gave me a hard time about my doodling/sketching, some even found them interesting.