101 Best Fidget Toys for Teens and Adults with Autism & ADHD

functional life skills how to teach life skills resource special education teachers teacher experience transition Apr 11, 2024
Visual Fidgets for Adults

Please do NOT buy that fidget box full of random rainbow-colored fidgets, and I hope it will meet the needs of teens and adults!  You are bound to find that they are small in size, simple, and limited in use.  

So, I made a list of the best fidget toys out there for older kids, teens, and adults with disabilities, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)!  

  

What is a Fidget Toy?

Fidgets are small handheld toys or objects that can be moved or manipulated to relieve stress by bringing joy to the user, providing a distraction from another task, or meeting a sensory need through visual, auditory, or tactile input.  A fidget is different from educational games and problem-solving toys.  

 

Fidget objects are small enough to fit in one hand and often require the user's motor skills to operate. Most fidgets require one's fine motor skills, too, while others can be operated by larger gross motor movements. Also, take note of the choking hazard risk of fidgets with small parts.    

 

While typically associated with the special needs, ADHD, and autistic community (with many using 'autism fidget toy' or 'adhd fidget toys' in the item's title), fidgets are used and loved by everyone, including typically developing individuals, because they are a great way to meet sensory needs and/or provide distraction or stress relief.  

 

Fidgets are powerful tools that can be used in sensory rooms or sensory tables, by special education teachers in the classroom setting, or by occupational therapists to help students block out extraneous sensory information or to meet a sensory processing need.   

  

Choosing the Right Fidget Toys

When choosing a fidget toy, consider the teen or adult's personal preference (like different colors), preferred sensory inputs, their targeted sensory systems (e.g., tactile awareness), the purpose of the need for a fidget (stress relief, distraction, or sensory input), and the different times when they would need to use it.  A conscious match between the fidget and the user's preferred movements of objects and sensory considerations can make great fidgets meaningful and useful for the teen or adult.  

 

Fidgets should not be bought just because they are the most visually appealing or because something is marketed as an adult fidget toy. A fidget toy should meet the individual's needs and be age-appropriate! This includes selecting age-appropriate sizing, colors, and themes.  Also, one fidget may not meet an individual's different sensory needs, and therefore, they may benefit from a variety of different fidgets. When selecting fidgets for students to use in the classroom or learning environment, teacher-approved fidgets are usually those that are quiet or silent and more discrete.  

 

The good news is that fidget toys are more than just classic stress balls, flippy chain, fidget spinners, and bouncy bands you see at the end of a kid's toy section aisle.  Much like the function of stim toys, some fidgets have different textures and different sizes and operate by a user's repetitive behaviors (shaking, flicking, pulling).  They can be useful tools and a satisfying sensory experience.  

  

 

101 Sensory Fidget Toys for Teens and Adults with Disabilities, Autism, and ADHD

  1. Silent & Quiet Fidget Toys
  2. Single Action Fidgets
  3. Multi-Action Fidgets
  4. Proprioceptive Input Fidgets
  5. Infinity & Visually Appealing Fidgets

 

                                         

Silent & Quiet Fidget Toys

Fidgets that are silent or have a quiet noise level when in use.  Silent and quiet fidgets are an ideal choice for students in class and adults working closely with others as these will not be a sound distraction.  

 

Crochet Pop Its

 

Swirfi Fidget

 

Fidget Pincher

 

Smart Phone Fidget

 

Mini Marble Discreet Fidget Maze

 

Spinning Pen

 

Quiet Fidgers Variety Pack (available in a variety of pastel colors)

 

Spinning Gear Stick Fidget

 

Button Tap Fidget

 

Mini Black UFO Spinner

 

Labyrinth Puzzle Box

 

Roller Stick Keychain

 

Twisting Christmas Tree Fidget

 

Silent Rolling Ball Board Fidget

 

Pocket Size Picking Pad (small pieces come out)

 

Olive Wood Stress Balls

 

Double Ended Roller Pod

 

Smooth Movement Tower Fidget

 

Marble Maze Finger Fidget

 

Wearable Bracelet Bead Pull Fidget

 

 

 

                                     

Single-Action Fidgets

Simple fidgets for those who may want only to use one hand or weaker fine motor skills.  

 

Autism Spinner Pin

 

Large Sliding Disc

 

Gliding Slider Fidget

 

Mini Adult Pop It on Keychain

 

Flick Fidget (only available in bright neon colors)

 

Quiet Metal Link Rolling Squishe

 

Switch Clicker Fidget

 

Multi Minute Spinner Fidget (or matte single-color fidget spinner)

 

Joystick Thumb Fidget

 

Flexible Snaking Cat Fidget or Flexible Articulated Slug (available in various colors and lengths) 

 

Clicking Keyboard Fidget (available in various colors)

 

Stainless Steel Spinning Top

 

Wooden Ball Connected Twisting Fidget

 

Marble Collider Fidget

 

Double Press to Toggle Fidget

 

Sliding Magnetic Pillar Sticks Fidget

 

Click Clack Crochet Fidget

 

Liquid Motion Falling Sequins Keychain Fidget

 

Twisty Tangle Fidget

 

Tetrahedron Gears Shape Shifting Fidget

 

 

                                     

Multi-Action Fidgets

A fidget that can do more than one thing, allowing for more types of use.  

 

Click Stick (available in a variety of colors)

 

Magnetic Sliding Disc (comes in many, many colors for customization)

 

Steel Ball Orbitor

 

Magnetic Yogi Sticks

 

Multifunction Portable Fidget

 

Endless Magic Cube Orbit Ball

 

Glow in the Dark Fidget Pen

 

 

Magnetic Fidget Pen

 

Bike Chain Tangle

 

Mini Finger Fidget Cube

 

Magnetic Clicker Haptic Fidget

 

Flipping & Spinning Disc

 

Two Handed Ball Maze or Ball Run Fidget

 

Fidget8 Multi Spin Fidget

 

Cylcloid Gear Fidget

 

Serenity Sensory Stick

 

Longshot Ball and Chain Fidget

 

Triple Zipper Fidget

 

Ramen Noodles Stretch or Shimmy Fidget

 

Hexel Puzzle Piece Fidget

 

 

 

                                     

Proprioceptive Input Fidgets

Proprioception is knowing where one's body is and it's movement and strength.  

 

Soft Tinkerball Sensory Balls

 

Large Sensory Squishy Balls

 

Metallic Stress Balls

 

Chainmetal Stress Ball

 

Lavender-Scented Stress Balls

 

Large Stress Ball Fidget

 

Stress Relief Massaging Finger Rings

 

Super Stretchy Strings

 

Flow Fidget Rings Arm Bracelet

 

Stretch Squisy Cubes

 

Squeeze Clicker

 

Flexible Stone Silly Putty

 

Pull and Stretch Pop Tubes

 

Pull Crochet Spiral Ribbon Key Chains

 

Mini Expanding Breathing Sphere Fidget

 

Foot Rest Sensory Fidget

 

Aromatherapy Stress Putty

 

Rocking Foot Rest for Under Chair

 

Resistance Rubber Band for Body or Fingers or Hands or Arms

 

Soft Sensory Stretch Bracelet

 

 

 

                                     

Infinity & Visually Appealing Fidgets

Fidgets that are visually attractive or never-ending!   Make note that some visual fidgets may cause sensory overstimulation for some.  

 

Orbi Beads

 

Infinity Worm Fidget

 

Infinity Cube Fidget

 

Shape Shifting Box (available in a variety of colors/designs)

 

Desk Spinning Ball

 

Tornado Fidget

 

Chainmail Moveable Sheet Fidget

 

Gyro Gimbal Fidget

 

Mobius Infinity Crochet Ball

 

Hexagon Super Fidget

 

Rolling Balls Fidget Flip

 

Gyroscope Spinning Fidget

 

Liquid Motion Sensory Disc

 

Optical Illusion Spinning Coin

 

Rippling Waves Circle

 

Self-Closing Twist Container

 

Metallic Tangle Rope

 

Forever Turning Sculpture

 

Do Nothing Grinder

 

Mini Lollipopter

 

Mini Colored Prism

 

 

I hope this list helps you find your favorite fidgets as there are benefits of fidget toys for everyone.  

 

If you are looking for adult autism toys and other sensory solutions, check out the 101 Sensory Toys List blog post.  If you have a larger budget and want other ideas besides fidgets, check out my blog post about how I would spend a $1,000 budget.  

 

 

*Above is a list of fidget tools, all of which are available for purchase from Etsy and Amazon. Amazon Prime members (which so many of us are nowadays) get free shipping on most products and have the best delivery times.  Etsy is a global marketplace that offers mostly made-to-order items and handmade pieces, which make them more unique than mass-market fidget toys.  Purchases can be made using the Amazon and Etsy app or website.  It is important to note that I earn a very small commission (like pennies) from the Amazon links below; however, the price for you is the same.

 

 

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