I was commissioned by Geek Club Books and Happy Hands Toys to write an article about Stims. It was published today and the first half of which is quoted below if anyone would like to read it. The entire piece is posted at Geek Club Books.
What are your own favourite toys, activities or everyday objects for stimming?
What are your own favourite toys, activities or everyday objects for stimming?
By Quinn Dexter, Autistamatic
If you are autistic and you don’t stim then you are in a minority. Most people stim in some way or another from bored employees in meetings clicking their pens to Presidents and Prime Ministers scratching their chins in thought. Stimming is not just the preserve of neuro-divergent people, though without doubt we find it more essential to our functioning than most.
Stimming helps us to stimulate our thoughts and regulate emotions or senses.
It helps keep us calm when life is difficult, provides a distraction if we get over-excited, and when we have work to do or deadlines to meet, it’s a filter to tune out distractions that might otherwise tempt us off track.
As important as they are, stims can be distracting to other people and there are times we have to compromise between our own needs and those of the situation. When we’re in school, church or at work, clicking our fingers, blowing raspberries or humming the tune to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” might attract attention we could do without, so it’s good to know that there are plenty of stim toys and activities that might fill the need for stimming, without disturbing others.
1 - Fidget Spinners
Yes, you read it right – fidget spinners can actually be great for secret stimming, you just have to use them differently. Normally we hold the centre disc between finger and thumb and spin the outside. One handed or with two hands, it’s not exactly invisible and a lot of spinners are noisy.
I always have a couple of small spinners with me at work that I take to meetings. Instead of spinning them the regular way, I hold the spinner in my hand and spin the centre disc with the tip of my thumb instead. It takes more coordination than you might think and can fulfil the need of a fidgety-stimmer until the chance to let rip and spin that spinner like it should be comes around. If your hands are out of sight under a desk or in a jacket pocket, no-one need know you’re fidgeting away under their noses.
2- Silicone Noodles
Silicone is an amazingly versatile material. Its stretchy, rubbery texture has so much stimmy potential for fiddly or tactile stimmers and can be enjoyed silently. These noodles are my favourite application of silicone for stimmers. I got a pack of 5 of them and I have them scattered everywhere I might need them. The ones I have are about 12mm (1/2”) across and 25cm (10”) long. I tie them in knots, squeeze them, stretch them, wrap them round my hands and bounce them off hard surfaces. They never make a sound so if you can’t be seen, nobody is going to notice.
3- Rubber Bands
An inexpensive, or even free alternative to silicone stim toys are rubber bands. Pretty much every office, despatch room and school has them in ready supply so there’s usually some to hand. You can wrap them round your hands, stretch them between your fingers, snap them against your skin and they can even be a good visual stim. Those who like sorting things can take a regular pack of coloured rubber bands and sort them into colours and sizes, they can be stretched around things to create stripes or patterns or built into the classic rubber band ball which can be rolled around, bounced, tossed or just enjoyed as it gets ever larger. A pack of rubber bands is one of the most accessible stim toys available.
4- Gravity Timers
It’s easy to get carried away talking about fiddly, tactile stims, but we mustn’t forget about visual stims. The purpose of stimming for most of us is to help us with emotions that may be getting a bit much, or to stimulate our thoughts whilst working or using our imaginations. For a moving visual stim I can use at my desk without drawing attention, I’ve found little that beats a simple timer. I used to use little kitchen timers and watch the grains of sand flow down, piling up and bouncing around, but then I discovered oil timers which are even better.
Nobody is going to look twice when you turn one of these over and watch the different coloured liquids slowly drip and flow downwards. They’re small enough to fit into a shoulder-bag or coat pocket, they make no sound and need no batteries. Many times, I have calmed my agitation or boosted my concentration with one of these.
5- Marble & Mesh Toys
These are a new take on an old idea that uses modern materials to great effect. They’re remarkably simple but full of possibilities for the stealthy stimmer. The colourful mesh stretches in all directions allowing the marble to move around. Stretching it also creates complex patterns when held up to the light or against a white background so there is a visual satisfaction too. Where the ingenious little toys come into their own is their ability to be used invisibly in public. The sealed mesh tube fits comfortably into the palm of most adult hands so it can be concealed quite effectively whilst you manipulate the marble from one end to the other and back again by clenching your fingers one after another. It’s like a stealthy version of rolling a coin across the knuckles. It’s quiet, barely visible and will get you through situations where being seen to stim might raise more eyebrows than you want it to.
If you are autistic and you don’t stim then you are in a minority. Most people stim in some way or another from bored employees in meetings clicking their pens to Presidents and Prime Ministers scratching their chins in thought. Stimming is not just the preserve of neuro-divergent people, though without doubt we find it more essential to our functioning than most.
Stimming helps us to stimulate our thoughts and regulate emotions or senses.
It helps keep us calm when life is difficult, provides a distraction if we get over-excited, and when we have work to do or deadlines to meet, it’s a filter to tune out distractions that might otherwise tempt us off track.
As important as they are, stims can be distracting to other people and there are times we have to compromise between our own needs and those of the situation. When we’re in school, church or at work, clicking our fingers, blowing raspberries or humming the tune to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” might attract attention we could do without, so it’s good to know that there are plenty of stim toys and activities that might fill the need for stimming, without disturbing others.
1 - Fidget Spinners
Yes, you read it right – fidget spinners can actually be great for secret stimming, you just have to use them differently. Normally we hold the centre disc between finger and thumb and spin the outside. One handed or with two hands, it’s not exactly invisible and a lot of spinners are noisy.
I always have a couple of small spinners with me at work that I take to meetings. Instead of spinning them the regular way, I hold the spinner in my hand and spin the centre disc with the tip of my thumb instead. It takes more coordination than you might think and can fulfil the need of a fidgety-stimmer until the chance to let rip and spin that spinner like it should be comes around. If your hands are out of sight under a desk or in a jacket pocket, no-one need know you’re fidgeting away under their noses.
2- Silicone Noodles
Silicone is an amazingly versatile material. Its stretchy, rubbery texture has so much stimmy potential for fiddly or tactile stimmers and can be enjoyed silently. These noodles are my favourite application of silicone for stimmers. I got a pack of 5 of them and I have them scattered everywhere I might need them. The ones I have are about 12mm (1/2”) across and 25cm (10”) long. I tie them in knots, squeeze them, stretch them, wrap them round my hands and bounce them off hard surfaces. They never make a sound so if you can’t be seen, nobody is going to notice.
3- Rubber Bands
An inexpensive, or even free alternative to silicone stim toys are rubber bands. Pretty much every office, despatch room and school has them in ready supply so there’s usually some to hand. You can wrap them round your hands, stretch them between your fingers, snap them against your skin and they can even be a good visual stim. Those who like sorting things can take a regular pack of coloured rubber bands and sort them into colours and sizes, they can be stretched around things to create stripes or patterns or built into the classic rubber band ball which can be rolled around, bounced, tossed or just enjoyed as it gets ever larger. A pack of rubber bands is one of the most accessible stim toys available.
4- Gravity Timers
It’s easy to get carried away talking about fiddly, tactile stims, but we mustn’t forget about visual stims. The purpose of stimming for most of us is to help us with emotions that may be getting a bit much, or to stimulate our thoughts whilst working or using our imaginations. For a moving visual stim I can use at my desk without drawing attention, I’ve found little that beats a simple timer. I used to use little kitchen timers and watch the grains of sand flow down, piling up and bouncing around, but then I discovered oil timers which are even better.
Nobody is going to look twice when you turn one of these over and watch the different coloured liquids slowly drip and flow downwards. They’re small enough to fit into a shoulder-bag or coat pocket, they make no sound and need no batteries. Many times, I have calmed my agitation or boosted my concentration with one of these.
5- Marble & Mesh Toys
These are a new take on an old idea that uses modern materials to great effect. They’re remarkably simple but full of possibilities for the stealthy stimmer. The colourful mesh stretches in all directions allowing the marble to move around. Stretching it also creates complex patterns when held up to the light or against a white background so there is a visual satisfaction too. Where the ingenious little toys come into their own is their ability to be used invisibly in public. The sealed mesh tube fits comfortably into the palm of most adult hands so it can be concealed quite effectively whilst you manipulate the marble from one end to the other and back again by clenching your fingers one after another. It’s like a stealthy version of rolling a coin across the knuckles. It’s quiet, barely visible and will get you through situations where being seen to stim might raise more eyebrows than you want it to.
Oh, but it doesn't fit the stealthy part. Toys tend to be excitable. I guess I get no points. 
