Fidget Widget Toolkit

Our Active Minds Fidget Widget Toolkit can help improve dexterity, and encourage meaningful engagement and positive connections.

It contains 5 specially designed widgets (wooden gadgets), each with a particular motion – spin, slide, twist turn or roll. The motion can help to relax or calm someone, or simply support repetitive actions. Since their shapes and movements are intentionally unfamiliar people don’t feel the need to rely on memory or words to play with them.

There is no right or wrong way to interact with the widgets, so let people have fun exploring their tactile nature and intriguing motions.

You’ll need

• Active Minds Fidget Widget Toolkit

The Activity

• Invite the person to sit in a comfortable chair, armchair or at a table
• Unfold the toolkit in front of them
• Take out the widgets and lay them on the table
• Encourage the person pick up and look at all the widgets in turn
• Ask them to choose one
• If they seem reluctant to pick one up, do a little demonstration and hand it to them. You could place it in their hand and guide their fingers around it to discover how it feels
• Encourage them to explore and connect with the widget, feeling and moving the parts
• Give them as much time as they like to enjoy it
• Ask them every now and again if they’d like to try a different one (it’s best to supervise them throughout this activity)