So, another April post. This one also about things near and dear to our hearts – stimming. (No, it’s not the post I’ve been promising for two years now. Sorry. That one’s still going to take some time to do.) No, this one is a first look at Musings of an Aspie’s company, StimTastic.
Note that I say “first look” because I haven’t yet received any of their products. However, hopefully next month after my birthday I’ll be able to provide some specific product reviews…. 😉 (Yes, some stuff from StimTastic is first on my birthday list.)
Stimtastic’s product list is, as the name suggests, things that can be used for stimming. At the moment, this mainly incorporates chewing, tactile, auditory, and visual stims and fidgets.
They have an entire line of chewable jewellery and chewable toys, made out of silicone, and the jewellery is reasonably attractive as well. The chewable items are divided up by “chewing style” – aggressive, moderate, or light – and the product pages outline which style the product is most suited for.
They have some lovely fidget jewellery, including movable pendants, spinner rings (that’s on my list!), and a “snake twist necklace” that acts very much like a “tangle toy” or a wire toy – you can bend it into all sorts of shapes, wear it as a necklace or bracelet, etc. They also have fidget toys, including the aforementioned “tangle toys” (a set of interlocked pieces that you can use to make lots of shapes out of); “thinking putty” – which is putty that comes in four different “types”: glow in the dark, jewel tones, metallic, and colour change putties, which are visually stimming as well as tactilely; squish balls, one type of which also makes a sound; keychain cords and rubber-wrapped wire… all sorts of things.
And a couple of visual stims – remember those toys from childhood of tubes of water with coloured bubbles? They’ve got two designs of those. And they’ve even got a pen that has a maze with two little balls in it – another auditory and visual stim!
Not to mention, 10% of the proceeds are donated back into the autistic community; so far there have been donations to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Autistic Women’s Network, to name two.
And speaking of proceeds, one of Musings’s goals for StimTastic is to make these stimming toys and jewellery affordable for people – after all, what good are stim toys if you can’t afford them? The average price of items seems to range from about $4.00 US to about $10.00 US or so, with a few being more expensive (like the Gear Necklace, which they are currently sold out of). And they also work to make the shipping costs relatively low – packing things in small boxes, etc.
StimTastic also includes a gallery and a blog that talk about stimming – not just about or with StimTastic products, but in general. Contributions seem to be welcome for the blog, and include poetry, videos, and stories. The site’s FAQ also invites people to contribute suggestions for other products, etc.
So in short, while I can’t personally review any of the products of StimTastic (yet) because I haven’t got any (again, yet), both the concept and its execution seem excellent. It is designed to be responsive to the needs of both autistics and other people who stim a great deal for one reason or another, and from what I’ve read about it, it seems to be living up to its promises.
If I may speak on behalf of others for a moment, I would like to say, “Thank you, Musings, for your efforts and work at creating StimTastic.” It really does fulfill a need among the autistic community.
🙂 tagAught
[Edit: Now with pictures of my first item received, the Snake Twist Necklace in Rose-Gold/Gold:
🙂 tagÂûght]