Tag: fidgettoy

Pop-it Fidget Toys from Fidgipops! 😍

The lovely people @fidgipops kindly gifted me these awesome pop-it’s! 😍😍😍 I LOVE THEM! They are super satisfying to play with and really do keep your hands and mind occupied and distracted so I’d definitely recommend them.

I have one on my desk while I work!

Cactus: https://fidgipops.com/collections/fidgipops/products/fidgipops-cactus-pop-it-fidget-toy

Pineapple: https://fidgipops.com/collections/fidgipops/products/pineapple

Dimplepop: https://fidgipops.com/collections/fidgibox/products/dimplepop

Two Mystery Fidget Unboxing Videos! 📦

I was gifted* two Sensory ToyBox Mystery Boxes over the past couple of months and thought I’d film a couple of unboxing videos and show you what I received and my honest opinions and reactions!

1st video:

2nd video:

Sensory ToyBox are a UK Etsy shop selling fab sensory and fidget toys as well as mystery boxes.

Check out Sensory Toy Box links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sensory_toybox/

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Sensorytoybox

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sensory_toybox

*I was sent these boxes for free and was under no obligation to post about them but genuinely loved the contents of the boxes and wanted to film unboxing videos to show you all!

21andsensory Livestreams…

I’ve been doing regular livestreams over on my YouTube Channel and on my Instagram and TikTok.

Above is a link to a livestream that I am going to be doing this Saturday 27th at 7pm UK time. Please join me in the live chat and feel free to ask any questions!

I really enjoy doing these as it gives me a chance to speak to everyone and answer anything you might be wondering about. Also I get to just chill with my fidget toys and recommend good ones that you all might like!

Fidget toys I got for Christmas…🌲

Hi everyone – I thought I’d do a quick little video do the fidget toys I got for Christmas – do let me know what you got for Christmas in the comments below!

Product Links:

Interoception (inner sense) drawing…🧠

Hello! Here is drawing number six (part of a series on our 8 senses, scroll back in my feed to see my previous drawings!) ✏️ which is all about Interoception which is a lesser known sense that actually helps you understand and fell what’s going on inside your body (think of it as an inner sense)…

  • A sensory diet is important! It’s a way of self regulating (like using fidget and stim toys) and usually involves physical activities like rolling on a yoga ball, having time on a swing or trampoline, heavy work activities like using weights or lifting and carrying things. The idea is a sensory diet helps you to become more grounded as you are getting the regular input that your body needs. As a result you may feel calmer and more in control of your behaviour and mood. I’ve definitely seen the benefits of having a sensory diet (for example I use a therapressure brush to do body brushing which has helped me to desensitise my limbs to touch).
  • I never feel full…like my stomach and brain just doesn’t have that sense wired in..it’s really odd and can be annoying (comment down below with a hands-up emoji to join the club) I experience this even more in restaurants, due to the busy, noisy environment I literally cannot connect to what my stomach is feeling because I am filtering so much other information.
  • Visual cues – these can be super helpful, especially to remind ourselves to do daily tasks like personal hygiene, to drink and eat enough and what to expect during the day. I know a lot of people use social stories (google the term for more info, they were developed by Carol Gray in 1991) as a tool to help with self care skills, social skills, changes in routine, etc. You can make Velcro versions so you can easily change out what your day looks like.
  • Hypersensitivity to pain…if you’re a sensory being you may well be hypersensitive (over-sensitive) to pain…I know I am!! I am very tuned in to pain and when something hurts it REALLY HURTS even if it’s something small like a cut it’ll be super distracting to me. Equally you may be hyposensitive to pain (under-sensitive) and not realise if you are hurt/injured.
  • Grounding exercises – these are super useful when your mind is whirring, thoughts swirling and your heartbeat feels a bit rapid and all over the place. Most smart watches have in-built breathing exercises / apps built into them (e.g Apple Watch does, my Fitbit does too!) and these can be helpful in terms of distraction by looking at something visual and timing your breath along with an animation. Of course there are lots of different grounding exercises, another good one to use when you are overwhelmed is to sit and use your senses to ground you, name a few things you can hear, smell, touch, see, etc. This can diverts your brain and distract you.
  • Alexithymia is a difficulty in recognising emotions and identifying feelings. This is something my autism assessor said she think I might struggle with. I definitely find it super difficult to explain my feelings to others because I genuinely cannot recognise or process my own emotions.

    Do comment down below if you can relate to anything in my drawing or anything I’ve said, I’m always keen to hear how everyone copes with these things. Two more drawings to go in this little series!

Sight and Visual Processing…👁

Sight and Visual Processing…here is a new drawing (part of a series on our 8 senses, scroll back to see my previous drawings!) ✏️

  • Mood lighting is…THE BEST. I have @philipshue lights in my bedroom and it makes the world of difference especially before bed as it’s such a calming way to unwind rather than having my main light on 💡
  • DO NOT get me started on a rant about fluorescent and neon clothing. I once ranted for a solid few minutes on my podcast (search 21andsensory hehe sneaky plug right there) about a guy who worked in my open plan office who ALWAYS hung his bright yellow fluorescent cycling jacket in my view EVERY DAY. Gees it was too much to handle visually! I knew he was unaware the pain it was causing me but it’s the little things like this that can really affect my mood and ability to generally function! 🚴‍♂️
  • Visual stims such as bubble liquid timers, desktop and fidget spinners are the best! 🙌🏻
  • Lights flashing such as sirens, alarms and cameras can be disorientating and bewildering 🚨🚔📸
  • Bright screens = not okay with me. I always have my screen brightness down whether it’s on my phone, tablet or laptop ☀️😎
  • Aaaah clean and tidy places fill me with joy visually! Tidy room = a tidier(ish) mind for me 😍
  • Okay ewww colourful shelving at supermarkets = NOT cool. I cannot find what I need (cereal aisle, confectionery aisle, you know what I mean) it’s borders on physically painful to walk down these aisles and it messes with my mind trying to process all the colours at once 👀
  • And finally…hello sequins. I have sequinned fidgets, notebook, doorstop and a pillow! I love the sight of sequins especially in sunlight (and the sensory feedback in terms of texture too!) 💚

So there you have it, what do you love and hate in terms of visuals? Comment down below!

What is stimming? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi everyone 👋 this is a post in collaboration with the wonderful @agonyautie. Sara suggested working together on a post together all about stimming and what it looks like visually. Here are some wise words from @agonyautie:

‘Stop shaming stimming. Stimulate yourself through your senses. Have fun, Stim freely, be respectful of others and Stim Shame Free. Make sure to stim safely and stim boldly!’

I’ve tried to visually represent in my two illustrations ✏️ the wide variety of things that can be referred to as stims (which is short for self-regulatory behaviour). Stimming helps a person to self calm and process overwhelming environments. Some stims can be quite subtle such as hair twirling or chewing whereas others are more noticeable and can be destructive such as skin picking (dermatillomania) or hair pulling (Trichotillomania) which can cause damage.

It’s important to recognise that stimming safely (whether you are a child or adult) is okay and not something to ever be ashamed of. It should not be looked down on or discouraged. Go forth and stim freely! 🙌

Link to my original Instagram post here

Good Distractions (a new drawing!)✏️

 

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Hi everyone! I’m back with another original drawing ✏️ let me know what you think of it in the comments below ☺️ so I thought I’d do a drawing including the things that help me when I feel a bit of a meltdown coming on…

Featured items:

Moleskine journal 📔 – I usually go for a blank paper one for doodle but they do lined and dotted paper ones too.

Drinks and snacks: a good old cup of tea ☕️ an Costa Coffee strawberries and cream drink 🍓 a good old glass of orange juice or squash 🍊 a nice big apple 🍎 some digestive biscuits 🍪 and I had to include some form of chocolate so I went for Cadbury Dairy Milk 🍫

Fidgets: Notebook from Flying tiger covered in amazing sequins you can stim back and forth with 😍 a good old fashioned Rubik’s Cube that I found secondhand 🧠

I also have the most amazing Chewigem berries chewellery necklace! 🍇 I picked the blues and greens theme! 💙💚 it’s very chunky and each bead is covered in little nubs for sensory appeal and greater feedback when chewing. The beads have a heavy sort of weighted feel and I just like to hold and fidget with them. It’s hardwearing so would work well for more robust chewers!

And finally a squishy ball with gel beads in it from The Works Stores which is fab for having in a coat or hoodie pocket! Feel free to share my drawing on social media but please credit me 🙂