GLOSSARY · Sensory & Neurodivergent Play
Fidget Tool
A small object — a spinner, a cube, a piece of putty — kept in hand to support focus or self-regulation, including during a long game.
Detailed definition
A fidget tool is anything small and handheld that gives restless hands something to do, which for a lot of people is what actually makes it possible to sit still and pay attention for a long stretch. It’s not a distraction from the activity — for plenty of neurodivergent folks, it’s what keeps the activity sustainable.
Tabletop games already hand you a version of this without anyone having to bring their own. Rolling a set of novelty dice, stacking chips, or feeding dice through a dice tower all scratch the same itch as a fidget cube — it’s just built into the game instead of being a separate thing on the side.
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Questions about how this applies to your situation? Ask us directly and we will give you a straight answer.