Using Spinners to Increase Class Engagement for ADHD Students

Did you know that fidget spinners are toys that can help you focus better?

How does this toy, which repeats the simple action of spinning a finger without any special purpose, improve concentration? Today, I brought you a research paper on whether this spinner helps improve the class attitude of ADHD students.

What is ADHD?

It is a disorder that mainly occurs in childhood, and it causes inconvenience in daily life due to persistent lack of attention, distraction, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It occurs in about 5-6% of the general population.

Since ADHD students have difficulty maintaining focus during class, various interventions have been introduced to help them. Mainly, methods such as token economy system, parent education, and teaching organizational skills are suggested, but since these require a lot of attention from teachers, the need for simple and brief interventions has been raised.

Fidget Spinners... Do They Help with Class Engagement?

This study defined class participation as keeping one's eyes on the learning material or the person speaking, or following specific directions from the teacher. And when the intervention using fidget spinners was applied to three ADHD students, class participation increased compared to before.

Fidget spinners are another alternative!

Fidget spinners have been shown to help increase ADHD students' engagement in class, highlighting the importance of teaching appropriate alternative behaviors when appropriate.

How about we talk about what situations your child experienced today at school/institution that were uncomfortable or difficult, and how to deal with similar situations in the future?

Today's paper:

Aspiranti, K. E., & Hulac, D. M. (2021). Using fidget spinners to improve on-task classroom behavior for students with ADHD. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15 (2), 454-465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00588-2