JOBS MOVING TO DOWNTOWN DAYTON FUEL CONFIDENCE

School experts praise sensory stimuli; some find toy too distracting.

Fidget spinners — the latest gadget capturing the attention of school kids — burst onto the scene in area classrooms in recent weeks to mixed reviews from teachers.

Designed to be held and spun between two fingers, the gadgets are advertised as toys capable of increasing focus, revealing stress and aiding students with ADHD, autism and anxiety.

Nationally, the three-pronged spinners on a ball bearing are rued by educators as a distracting device, prompting school districts from Indiana to Florida to ban them.

But local educators concede the toys may have some educational benefit.

“In the classroom they can be very helpful,” said Judi MacLeod, director of special education at Chaminade Julienne High School in Dayton, where spinners are not banned.

MacLeod said students — and many people generally — can have nervous habits far more annoying than spinning a small device.

“The nice thing with the little gadgets and the little fidgets is they don’t make noise, where a clicker pen makes noise that’s distracting,” MacLeod said.

Still, MacLeod said the key is making sure children aren’t distracting the remainder of the class while clicking.

Sean Gideon, a Chaminade Julienne freshman, uses the fidget spinners in class.

“It makes me feel good,” Gideon said. “It’s just kind of satisfying just to look at it.”