Today I want to tell you about Fidgi-Flips. A Fidgi-Flip is a fiddle toy, an awesome little thing that I keep in my bag to get out whenever I need to fiddle.
When do I need to fiddle;
1.When I’m anxious, when my tummy is jiggly and my head is swirly. I feel a little bit weightless, and, even though I can’t always put my finger on the why, I feel all wrong.
2.If I need to concentrate on someone talking to me. I find processing verbal information tricky. My brain starts wondering, my gaze joins my brain and before I know it instead of concentrating on what’s being said I’m thinking about my lunch, or my to do list, or my children or unicorns. This is particularly bad if I’m at a conference or in a classroom or anywhere where I’m not one to one with the person talking.
3. On the slippery slope towards meltdown. Now that I know that I have meltdowns sometimes I can feel them approaching. It’s a little bit like when a thunderstorm is on its way, you can feel it in the air, my pre meltdown period can feel similar.
4. Just because it feels nice. When I was first diagnosed with autism I thought that I didn’t stim. Actually it turns out that folding my ears inside out, picking bit of grass and running it between my fingers, twiddling pens and pencils, biting the bits of skin from around my fingers and tapping each finger against the opposite hand’s same finger in a rhythmic way are all stimming. Stimming is fiddling by a different name, it helps me to stay calm, in control and it feels nice.
So fiddling is good. It helps me to concentrate, calms me down when I feel weird and gives me a focus when I feel overwhelmed.
What is a Fidgi-Flip?
Firstly let me tell you about Abbi. Abbi is a close friend of mine and she’s awesome. She’s set up a business called Sensory Oojamabobs where she sells things for people with sensory needs. All kinds of people, with all kinds of needs. She sells things to chew, and things to fiddle with. She also sells things to keep people who feel floaty feeling less floaty, weighted things.
Sensory Oojamabobs is a small business and Abbi genuinely cares about the people who need her sensory things. She offers a very personal service, is always happy to help people find just the right thing (even if that means customisation) and never compromises on these values.
Fidgi-Flips are made up of two metal rings, some bicycle chain parts and tiny rubber bands. They are discreet to fiddle with, I can hold mine in one hand and fiddle without anyone noticing. They come in two different sizes, standard and large. You can also attach a lanyard, which is a piece of ribbon shaped in a loop, it has a clip on one end which attaches to the Fidgi-Flip.
I would recommend buying your Fidgi-Flip with a lanyard. Firstly the range of lanyards is immense, there are hundreds of options. Secondly the lanyard means I can easily attach my Fidgi-Flip to my bag or belt and it’s always accessible, plus this makes it easier for children to keep hold of their Fidgi-Flips. Thirdly I also enjoy fiddling with the lanyard, running the ribbon round my fingers.
Fidgi-Flips start at £4.99 and you can visit Sensory Oojamabob’s website to purchase one. I would also recommend liking the Sensory Oojamabobs Facebook page, where Abbi often runs competitions and shares useful information for families who have children with special needs.