Anxiety Easing ‘Fidget Toys’ Banned in Some DuPage County Schools

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Some DuPage County schools have banned “fidget toys,” the small devices that children often manipulate to relieve anxiety. The objects are made with ball bearings and are marketed as a therapeutic tool for children with ADHD, autism and anxiety disorders. Teachers and parents have said that the devices cause unnecessary distractions in the classroom.

Prairieview School in Downers Grove recently joined a number of schools across the county that are banning fidget toys, Chicago Tribune reported.

Some behavioral experts believe that fidget toys are a necessary tool. Children with autism often wring their hands or twist their hair as a way of calming themselves. Janet Feylo, whose son attends school at Prairieview told Chicago Tribune that she was thankful for the ban. She explained that her son had been asking her to get him a fidget tool. Teachers and parents feel that the devices have become more of a trend than a therapeutic implement, as many neurotypical children are collecting them as toys.

CBS News summed it up with a quote from Adrienne Appell, the spokeswoman for National Toy Association. Appell said of the fidget toy craze, “It's the hunt for the 'unicorn' -- you saw it with the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino, with LulaRoe leggings going mainstream. We're seeing more and more of it in the toy industry.”

Social Media weighed in on the fidget spinners debate, with some defending the devices for their therapeutic uses, others questioning the toys' therapeutic benefits and still others skewering the the public's eagerness to jump on a newly minted marketing trend.

Are fidget spinners a necessary tool for children with autism, anxiety and ADHD or are they, as comedian Seth Davis said, "2017's Snap Bracelets?" Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: By Florian Schäffer (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons