Quiet fidget toys for ADHD: desk toys that won't annoy colleagues

Which are the quietest fidget toys for ADHD at work?

The quietest are the ones that never touch anything hard: putty, a lap pad and a silent roller. Sound comes from hard parts meeting each other or the desk, so anything that clicks, snaps, rattles or spins on a bearing is a bad fit for an open-plan office. The picks above all work on friction or softness, and each can be used with one hand while you look at a screen.

We have not tested any of these, and no toy suits every hand or every office. Noise and size notes come from the makers' own pages where we could read them, and we say where we could not.

What makes a fidget toy suitable for a shared office?

A good office fidget is one nobody else notices. That means no sound, no flash and nothing that falls on the floor.

Five things decide it:

• Sound. Look for a maker claim of silence, not a reviewer's "pretty quiet". ONO says its rollers are designed to be whisper silent. Putty and fabric have no moving hard parts at all.
• Size. It should live in one hand and below the table edge. The Tangle Jr is described by retailers as sitting in a hand or under a desk.
• Visibility. A toy that is interesting to watch invites questions. A grey roller or a tin of putty rarely does.
• Mess and care. Crazy Aaron's says putty should be kept in its tin, with clean dry hands, and that hand oils, lotions and dirt break it down for good. It can also leave a minor stain on fabric.
• Safety. Check age warnings if children visit your desk or your home. Tangle toys are a choking hazard for under-3s. Weighted items come with their own rules.

Which fidget toy for a meeting?

For a meeting, pick one hand-sized toy with no moving hard parts. The ONO Roller Jr is the main pick because the maker claims it is silent.

ONO sells the Junior in more than one material, including aluminium, soft-touch plastic and steel, and the weights differ. Check which one you are buying. Retailers give different dimensions, so measure against your hand if size matters to you.

Which fidget toy for your own desk?

For your own desk, use putty or a weighted lap pad, which have no noise at all. Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty. The Sweet Surprise version has hidden characters inside, so check there are no children or pets around before you buy it.

A weighted lap pad sits across your thighs under the desk. The Sensory Direct polycotton pad comes in 1kg and 2kg. The 1kg is about 60cm by 30cm and the 2kg about 66cm by 51cm. It is machine washable at 30°C. The page gives 5+ as the recommended age and says adults and teens suit the 2kg one. Our data lists it from £44, though the maker's page showed a lower sale price on the day we looked. Check the price before buying.

Should you ask your employer?

Not for a pocket toy. For anything bigger, or if a colleague objects, ask. Acas says a reasonable adjustment is a change an employer makes to reduce a disadvantage linked to disability, and that the employer should talk with the person rather than assume. Describe the toy, say why you use it and offer to change if the noise is a problem.

The National Autistic Society says that if stimming is harmless there is no reason to prevent an autistic person doing it, and that suppressing it can be a form of masking. That is information about stimming, not a claim about any product.

Things to know

• Magnets. We left magnetic putty and magnetic desk toys off the picks. The Office for Product Safety and Standards warns that desk toys with small magnets can be dangerous if swallowed and tells people to go to A&E or call 999 if they suspect it. Keep them away from young children, or skip them.
• Weighted items. Sensory Direct says its lap pad is not suitable for under-3s, needs adult supervision for children, must not be used as a restraint or cover the head or face, and should be used one at a time.
• Small parts. Putty and Tangles are not for children under 3, according to their makers.
• Prices move. We use the prices in our data at the time of writing. Check the seller before buying.
• What we could not confirm. Several Amazon pages would not load in full, so material, size and noise are not confirmed for the Tangle Jr and Blulu rings.