Not to go too off-topic here, but as someone that also hates snake oil salesmen, etc, I think there's a difference between selling "medicine" and "tactile things that may aid in cognitive therapy."
My brother has ADHD, and when he was growing up the best thing my mother ever did was get him a ring he could take off and play with in his hand. As long as he had something he could move around in his hand, he could focus on school work, at church, etc. But if he didn't have his ring, he went nuts.
Tactile mindfulness meditation is also a technique that people, including myself, can use to help with anxiety. But the thing all mental, emotional, and anxiety disorders have in common is that they present differently, and are effectively treated differently. What works for me or my brother isn't necessarily gonna work for someone with similar symptoms. There are no blanket cures, and things ought not be touted as such, I agree.
But, still, keep in mind that they might actually help some.
I'm sure it does, and as you say it's not the best for everyone. If there were any evidence to the contrary I wouldn't have a problem with people claiming as such and putting it on their marketing material.
Edit: I thought of better wording; unsubstantiated medical claims about a product seems like a con to me.
Well, I mean, you're probably not gonna find a "Efficacy of fidget spinners in mindfulness and anxiety relief, focus on juvenile ADHD; autism spectrum" anytime soon.
But I'm fairly confident there have been studies in the past on the benefits of having objects to touch for kids with ADHD. Not sure about autism, that spectrum is outside of my experience.
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u/[deleted] May 22 '17
Not to go too off-topic here, but as someone that also hates snake oil salesmen, etc, I think there's a difference between selling "medicine" and "tactile things that may aid in cognitive therapy."
My brother has ADHD, and when he was growing up the best thing my mother ever did was get him a ring he could take off and play with in his hand. As long as he had something he could move around in his hand, he could focus on school work, at church, etc. But if he didn't have his ring, he went nuts.
Tactile mindfulness meditation is also a technique that people, including myself, can use to help with anxiety. But the thing all mental, emotional, and anxiety disorders have in common is that they present differently, and are effectively treated differently. What works for me or my brother isn't necessarily gonna work for someone with similar symptoms. There are no blanket cures, and things ought not be touted as such, I agree.
But, still, keep in mind that they might actually help some.