#moving stims

[Image descriptions: the image on the left is of a pile of gray plastic trilobite skeletons. They are segmented so they can bend and flex without breaking and they lay on top of each other in various degrees of bent. the image on the right is of one of the gray plastic trilobite skeletons in the palm of a white person's hand, it is about the same length as their palm. It is bent so that its head is pointing slightly to the right of the frame.]

Type: Tactile and moving stim.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Price: $4.00 (plus shipping and handling).

Pros:

Very wiggly. I had a somewhat disappointing experience with a 3-D printed stim toy I got in the past (didn't review it bc I got it for Christmas and didn't know where it came from) so I was worried that the movement of it would be stiff and not fluid. I'm so glad I ordered it anyway because this is the opposite of that. It moves so nicely, it almost looks alive with how fluid the motion is.

Seems sturdy. When it arrived it was a little concerned about how delicate it looked but once I started playing with it I was no longer worried because it was quite resilient.

Good size. I was worried it might be too big or too small but it's just the right size to play with, you can easily use one or two hands without it feeling too fiddly or hard to control.

Smooth. Sometimes 3-D printed items can be rough, but I believe the surface of this was sanded. It has a little texture but not enough to make your hands uncomfortable.

Cons:

Can be noisy. When the plastic rubs against itself it makes a rustling noise. This can be reduced by playing with the tool slowly, but fast stimming with it will be quite loud. The noise is satisfying and could be part of the stimming experience, but it wouldn't be great for a classroom or business meeting setting.

Irresistible to cats. My cat is obsessed with the noise and movement of this stim tool. I offered it to her to sniff and she grabbed it in her teeth and ran away with it and I had to chase her to get it back. Every time I bring it out she stares at it. I would recommend storing them out of reach of cats as I'm not sure if they're cat-safe, the small plastic pieces could break off with rough play and get swallowed.

Overall:

[Image descriptions: the right image is of three sliver rings with a chain running around the circumference of the band. One has a black chain, one has a silver chain, and one has a gold chain. The left image is a silver spinner ring sitting on a wooden desk.]

[Video Description: a white woman with black-painted nails wearing the silver spinner ring from image 2 on its index finger. It is using its thumb to spin the chain on the ring quickly. The ring makes a very slight rustling noise when it's spun.]

Type: Moving stim.

Can be purchased from: https://neurodelightful.com/collections/rings/products/chain-spinner-ring.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Price: $5.00 (plus shipping and tax).

Pros:

- Shiny. This thing is so shiny I was shocked! The shininess kind of works as a stim in and of itself.

- Relatively quiet. I'm really sensitive to metal-on-metal sounds so I was worried this would bother me, but it really doesn't. It makes a quiet sort of rustling noise, but nothing offensive to the ears.

- Comfortable. I'm not a big wearer of rings and actually find them quite uncomfortable at times. While this ring is certainly big, it's not so big that it pushes on my finger and is unpleasant to wear.

- Easy to stim with. Once you get it going it spins freely and allows for quick, repetitive movements

- Subtle. It just looks like a cool, kind of alternative-looking ring to anyone who doesn't stim. I'm not much of a fashionable person but chain jewelry seems to have come back recently and this ring fits in perfectly with that.

Cons:

- Spins kind of pathetically at first. Mine was super stuck at first and didn't really want to spin more than a half turn at a time. Luckily I remember from spinner rings I looked at in the past that rubbing a little bit of pencil graphite under and next to the spinning part will work as a lubricant to make it spin better. Once I did that it spun freely. Ideally, I would like to see some instruction included for brand new stimmers who aren't aware of this trick.

Overall: