What Stim Toys Do You Use?

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I am not autistic. However, I love paperclips.

I twirl pens mostly. They're nice because it seems like a typical object one would carry everywhere. It seems to be a fairly acceptable thing for most folks. My preference is to take my hand and run it along the bumps in my head, feeling how they interact with the swirls in my hair and how it parts. As I'm a woman with a lot of hair this can be distracting in a meeting I'm told. Also, pens are nice because I can just start drawing stuff around me whenever I want too. I don't know that that is a stim per se, but it is something I enjoy doing all the time.

Isn't it strange, you can sit on a swivel chair in your office and swing from side to side and no one cares but rock back and forth and see what their reactions are!

1. Kinetic Sand - it's like sand that sticks together, but it doesn't! You can shape it, mold it, cut it and it feels wonderful...like sand mixed together with magnets and putty and leaves no residue on your hands:


2. Those gel balls you find in air fresheners - or crystal soil water balls. I add heaps of them in a bowl and add plenty of water, swelling them up beyond their recommended absorption then just put my fingers in the bowl and squish them all around:


3. Mr. Fuzzy magic worms. I can twirl them around my fingers for ages:


4. A pair of Kaleidoscope glasses:


5. Puzzle erasers of all different shapes and sizes:


6. Crystal Growing kits - I love growing these things:


7. Light-up fuzzy squeeze balls:



yup, that's the contents of my 'toy box'

I use my sunglasses as one. I like to spin them around in my hand by one of the ear handles. My current ones are slightly too frictionful compared to my previous sunglasses which broke but not too bad so it's still fun/relaxing/whatever.

Does anyone like to make certain noises as a stim (like trilling your tongue) or having favourite sayings that are repeated-might sound silly to someone else but the way the sounds go together is satisfying?

Does anyone like to clean something with powdery scouring powder. Does anyone like the smell of pencil lead and pencil shavings and do you like electric pencil sharpeners? No? Yes?

I'm known for unconciously grabbing random pens and taking them apart, bending back the clips on their caps, and sometimes even chewing them. I've broken so many pens that way...

As someone who is undiagnosed I've often only had stims that can be possible with my body, or with ordinary objects. I will often pop and unpop my buttons, partially zip and unzip my dips and although I don't have any I love bouncy balls.

My nephew is autistic - so I also know that I still love crazy foam, slippery snakes and flashing light balls/swing things. From volunteering in a school for autistic kids I also know that I adore those water/oil or gloop "timer" things. I could sit and watch them for ages and used to pass it off as "engaging with the kids", lol. (Often the other adults seemed very disinterested in them.) And tangles. And playdough.

I also love trampolines and balance boards. We use the latter at roller derby and although the "normal" one is REALLY DIFFICULT and noisy if/when you hit the ground, my wife has (somewhat begrudgingly) agreed that I may get a balance board for my birthday, on grounds that it won't disturb the neighbours.

When we've got some more money, my wife has agreed that we can get some stim toys to help with my concentration but as much as I love these things, I'm unsure that they'll help me concentrate to write. So maybe an exercise ball but we've been back and forth on whether we can fit one in our tiny flat.

Also, yes, I have lots of vocal stims. When in the privacy of my home I often use repetitive phrases and echolalia and usually have a favourite work.

For years my favourite word was "fish". Now topping my list are "turtle" and "chicken".

Also, I like toneless humming.

I like the smell of pencils. I also like the smell of petrol but I don't think it's got anything to do with my Aspieness.

I play with the tangle therapy toy a lot http://www.tanglecreations.com/collecti ... py-tangles
I have peeled the wood off of so many pencils it's not even funny.
Rubber bands work great as we'll.

Tangles, the fuzzy worms, chewy tubes and my car keys (the car key, house key, mini torch, memory stick, soft animal keyring).

I'm going to bump this old thread if it's OK?

I'd like to know some good recommendations for chewy stims. I've chewed up nearly every pen in the house and realise I should probably invest in something designed to be bitten. lol

I wish I could buy a multipack of pen caps I could put on any random pen, to bite to death.

Surprised to see this resurrected Personally my favourite chewy toy came from Chubuddy.com. It took me a long time to find a chew that worked for me because most of them are made of silicone rubber, and that was too soft and springy for me. It made my jaw ache without satisfying my need for deep pressure in my teeth. The Chubuddy "straws" are made of a firmer, more plastic-like material that provides more pressure input without wearing out my jaw as fast.

If you prefer silicone rubber though, there's a lot of great selection to be had at stimtastic.co, arktherapeutic.com, or etsy.com.

I like hard and hollow plastic, like the lids on pens. I don't think that would count as silicone rubber -- I've looked at the chewies on Amazon and I agree, they look too squishy.

I'll check out Chubuddy. Thanks so much!

PS Are these things that they market for chewing actually safe? Are they choking hazards?

I just looked at Chubuddy --- OMG YES!! ! I'm tingling at the thought!! But seriously!! --- I need those!!

No, they're not a choking hazard, it's nigh impossible to chew bits off the chubuddy tubes. I've had mine for over a year now, and it's split a little down the sides near the end, but other than that it's in great shape. I had a silicone one that I chewed to bits in a matter of two days, so I'd say those ones are more of a choking hazard for aggressive chewers.