LiveScience
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Kids love those fidget spinner toys. But are they too much of a distraction? Teachers Are Totally Fed Up With The Fidget Spinner Craze ans school across the country are starting to impose bans.
This season's hottest toy is marketed as an antidote for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and autism — but it's also being banned in classrooms across the country. The list of schools banning the spinners seems to be growing and now includes schools in Massachusetts, Brooklyn, New York, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, and even across the pond in Manchester, England.
"Fidget spinners" are small, ball-bearing devices that the user can rotate between his or her fingers. The momentum of the toy provides a pleasing sensory experience, according to user reviews. At least one expert is disappointed by the bans. "These little gadgets should be called fidget tools, not toys, and they can be part of a successful strategy for managing fidgety behavior if they are introduced as a normal part of the classroom culture," said Claire Heffron, a pediatric occupational therapist in Clevel
and, as reported by The Washington Post. “If we see students are unfocused, getting up to use the washroom, sharpening their pencil frequently or causing a disturbance, they might need a sensory tool to help them focus,” says Ferry, a special-education teacher at Ganiard Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, Mich. read more at Livescience
Kids love those fidget spinner toys. But are they too much of a distraction? Teachers Are Totally Fed Up With The Fidget Spinner Craze ans school across the country are starting to impose bans.
This season's hottest toy is marketed as an antidote for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and autism — but it's also being banned in classrooms across the country. The list of schools banning the spinners seems to be growing and now includes schools in Massachusetts, Brooklyn, New York, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, and even across the pond in Manchester, England.
"Fidget spinners" are small, ball-bearing devices that the user can rotate between his or her fingers. The momentum of the toy provides a pleasing sensory experience, according to user reviews. At least one expert is disappointed by the bans. "These little gadgets should be called fidget tools, not toys, and they can be part of a successful strategy for managing fidgety behavior if they are introduced as a normal part of the classroom culture," said Claire Heffron, a pediatric occupational therapist in Clevel
and, as reported by The Washington Post. “If we see students are unfocused, getting up to use the washroom, sharpening their pencil frequently or causing a disturbance, they might need a sensory tool to help them focus,” says Ferry, a special-education teacher at Ganiard Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, Mich. read more at Livescience