Photo
September 11, 2012
4 notes
“Fidget Man,” who has ADD, makes and sells palm-sized fidgets out of keychains and bike chain links, like the one above, for about $15 each. They’re intended to be flipped and twisted around in one hand, and make a soft clinking sound. If you click through to the site, you can see a Quicktime video of the fidget being played with.  Looks like a clever fidget, and a good way to support a neuroatypical small business owner! Keep in mind that these contain rubber bands which might have latex. Since these are all hand made, you may be able to ask for a latex-free version, or you can buy one and remove or replace the rubber bits (it’s unclear to me whether they serve some structural purpose).

“Fidget Man,” who has ADD, makes and sells palm-sized fidgets out of keychains and bike chain links, like the one above, for about $15 each. They’re intended to be flipped and twisted around in one hand, and make a soft clinking sound. If you click through to the site, you can see a Quicktime video of the fidget being played with. 

Looks like a clever fidget, and a good way to support a neuroatypical small business owner!

Keep in mind that these contain rubber bands which might have latex. Since these are all hand made, you may be able to ask for a latex-free version, or you can buy one and remove or replace the rubber bits (it’s unclear to me whether they serve some structural purpose).

Tags: actually autistic add anxiety autism clicky dermatillomania fidgets palm-sized shiny trichotillomania under $20 fidget man

Text
August 24, 2012
2 notes

Buckyball Colors

Hi new followers from Sensoryseaturtle (which, by the way, is one of my favorite blogs on tumblr)!

Since you’re all here, I might as well finally post a review of at least part of my most recent Buckyballs order: Buckyball colors. Here they are combined with my usual silver ones:

Picture of sculptures made out of silver and blue Buckyball magnets

Two sets combined is just enough for an icosahedron, a 64-ball cube, and an 8-ball cube! Sadly, though, it’s impossible to make an icosahedron out of two colors and make all adjacent sides be different colors from each other. This should have been obvious due to the five-triangle points, but I still tried.

The Buckyball colors are actually not quite the same from a sensory perspective as silver Buckyballs. The coating that gives them their color slightly weakens the magnetic attraction and makes the balls a bit less slippery, which makes them sort of “crunch” against each other when you’re squishing them around in your hands. This can be good or bad, depending on what sensations you like! I sort of like the crunchy sensation but other times I prefer the silver ones. 

I really like Buckyball products as “at work” toys because they are very satisfying while remaining professional-looking. They’re a bit pricey though, and are NOT for children or adults who tend to put things in their mouths a lot, as swallowed magnets of this level of strength can send you to the ER. I keep them in my office where they’re safely out of reach of kids and pets. 

I also got an order of Buckycubes (basically, square mini-magnets that actually act TOTALLY DIFFERENTLY from Buckyballs) and Buckybigs (eight really large magnetic spheres), but I’ll leave that for later. 

Tags: buckyball colors buckyballs sensory processing disorder spd actuallyautistic anxiety fidget toys shiny clicky office toys

Link
July 28, 2012
20 notes
More on Buckyballs

If you’ve been wanting buckyballs but found them too expensive, or want to show support for a company that makes great fidgets for adults, you can now get 45% off at their web site by entering the promo code “suckitgroupon” (presumably this has something to do with groupon not honoring groupons for buckyballs in light of the administrative action). I got a set of buckyballs, a set of buckycubes, and a set of “buckybigs” (8 biiiiig buckyballs) for a little over $50 and free shipping and am now super happy. :). PLEASE DO NOT BUY for children, or if you can’t keep them away from children or pets or adults with pica, or if you have a habit of putting your fidgets in your mouth without thinking.

Tags: ADHD Actuallyautistic Buckyballs Cheap Dermatillomania Desk toys Sensory processing disorder Spd Trich magnetic ocd professional-looking shiny trichotillomania stim toys

Link
April 27, 2012
3 notes
Buckyballs!

Buckyballs

Buckyballs are my favorite desk toy. For about $34.95 (a little pricey, but worth it if you can afford it), you get 216 little magnetic balls which you can squish, pull, wrap around your finger, or make into neat shapes. Their sleek metallic appearance fits in even in really conservative office environments, and they come with a nice little transparent cube carrying case. 

My favorite thing to do with these is to hold two chains of buckyballs near to each other and feel the magnetic force pulling them together. I also like to squish them around; they make a very satisfying clicking noise. I’ve also figured out how to make a sphere, a cube, and even a companion cube-type shape.

Please keep in mind that these are NOT for small children or anyone else who might inadvertently swallow them (such as an adult with a tendency to absent-mindedly put things in their mouth). Swallowed magnets will send you to the ER. 

Pros: shiny, clicky, addictive, appropriate for almost any office environments, and can be used at varying attention levels (from absent-mindedly squishing them to making them into complex shapes).

Cons: Expensive, not safe for small children, and probably not great to keep around electronics (I’m constantly accidentally putting them next to my phone or iPod; hasn’t killed them yet though).

Overall: Five stars. I love these things!

Tags: actually autistic adhd anxiety autism clicky fidget interesting magnetic ocd professional-looking shiny smooth tactile