Scientists and the academe alike debunk the claims that fidget spinners can help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and anxiety to regain their focus. Fidget spinners are sold everywhere from shops to toy stores, billed as a miracle device that can help those with social or psychological conditions.
The fidget spinner is a three-pronged handy device with a steel ball in the middle. Hold the steel ball between fingers and flip one of the prongs to make it spin in a similar fashion to that of a ceiling fan. The device is especially popular with parents of ADHD kids since the spinning motion is said to be helping them focus, according to Live Science.
Education experts, however, has a different say over the fidget spinners - they are causing more chaos rather than being helpful. There are instances where children will play with the fidget spinners in their class and cause disturbance instead, NPR reported. The spinning motion creates a hum, whirring sounds that are very audible in classrooms and other students tend to turn their heads towards the source. Instead of focus, the fidget spinners are causing distraction instead.
According to teacher Elizabeth Maughan of Oklahoma City, fidget spinners are annoyingly intrusive during classes that schools are banning them out. Schools classified the fidget spinners as a toy and not a therapeutic device, a source of chaos rather than focus. However, school authorities are having a tough challenge stopping the viral device since many kids are bringing them to their classrooms.
For his opinion, clinical psychologist and Duke University professor Scott Kollins said that fidget spinners' claim of being a PTSD or ADHD device is absurd. There have been no research nor scientific findings that could prove that these devices can help. Kollins also stressed that fidget spinners are just like other toys and video games that are marketed as "therapeutic."
