What the rise of fidget toys means for neurodivergence

See, that one's really squishy.

This is much firmer.

I think the internal structure of that one appeals more to me, but I like the corner factor of this one.

Also, I feel like it does not feel like it's going to explode.

I hope that's true.

I hope I don't get goo on me.

Like a lot of neurodivergent people, I fidget.

A lot.

And recently I got to spend an hour chatting and fidgeting with Anna North.

She's a journalist and an author and the writer of the Kids Today newsletter for Vox.

I reached out because she'd written a great newsletter about fidget toys, a subject that's kind of always on my mind, but especially lately.

As a lifelong, unsubtle fidgeter, I was always getting in trouble for doodling in class or on my hand, or chewing gum, or a myriad of other tiny but apparently forbidden things.

A friend once joked that I'd make a terrible spy because I'm constantly rolling up tiny strips of paper or creating a trail of trash leading directly to my current location.

And it is kind of funny, but also not, because being in trouble all the time sucks, especially when fidgeting is the thing that actually helps you concentrate, something I could rarely get my teachers to believe.

And because for much of my life, it's something I've found kind of embarrassing.

A very public sign that my ADHD brain does not work the way everyone else's does.

But recently, there's been a shift.

Fidget toys.

They're everywhere.

Ones that spin, ones you squeeze, ones you pop, sometimes accidentally.

And ones called Neetos that are, I kid you not, such a fad amongst the children that they are going for like $60 online.

$60 for a ball filled with slime.

The main toy store that we go to has signs that say, like, no Neato's.

We have no idea when we'll get Neato's.

Stop asking about Neato's.

Kids still come in and ask about Neato's.

As the conversation around neurodiversity grows, these toys are becoming much more common, and in their own goofy way, helping to destigmatize fidgeting in a way that I never saw coming.

But it's not all smooth sailing.

Like any fad, the normalization of fidgets feels like it could be more of a symptom of a moment, not a movement.

And I have to wonder what this will look like long term.

So, in this episode of Hyperfocus, a brief history of fidget toys.

And we go beyond the fad and ask, what does the rise of the fidget toy mean for inveterate fidgeters like me?

See, that one's really squishy.

This is much firmer.

I think the internal structure of that one appeals more to me, but I like the corner factor of this one.

Also, I feel like it does not feel like it's going to explode.

I hope that's true.

I hope I don't get goo on me.

Like a lot of neurodivergent people, I fidget.

A lot.

And recently I got to spend an hour chatting and fidgeting with Anna North.

She's a journalist and an author and the writer of the Kids Today newsletter for Vox.

I reached out because she'd written a great newsletter about fidget toys, a subject that's kind of always on my mind, but especially lately.

As a lifelong, unsubtle fidgeter, I was always getting in trouble for doodling in class or on my hand, or chewing gum, or a myriad of other tiny but apparently forbidden things.

A friend once joked that I'd make a terrible spy because I'm constantly rolling up tiny strips of paper or creating a trail of trash leading directly to my current location.

And it is kind of funny, but also not, because being in trouble all the time sucks, especially when fidgeting is the thing that actually helps you concentrate, something I could rarely get my teachers to believe.

And because for much of my life, it's something I've found kind of embarrassing.

A very public sign that my ADHD brain does not work the way everyone else's does.

But recently, there's been a shift.

Fidget toys.

They're everywhere.

Ones that spin, ones you squeeze, ones you pop, sometimes accidentally.

And ones called Neetos that are, I kid you not, such a fad amongst the children that they are going for like $60 online.

$60 for a ball filled with slime.

The main toy store that we go to has signs that say, like, no Neato's.

We have no idea when we'll get Neato's.

Stop asking about Neato's.

Kids still come in and ask about Neato's.

As the conversation around neurodiversity grows, these toys are becoming much more common, and in their own goofy way, helping to destigmatize fidgeting in a way that I never saw coming.

But it's not all smooth sailing.

Like any fad, the normalization of fidgets feels like it could be more of a symptom of a moment, not a movement.

And I have to wonder what this will look like long term.

So, in this episode of Hyperfocus, a brief history of fidget toys.

And we go beyond the fad and ask, what does the rise of the fidget toy mean for inveterate fidgeters like me?