Could a fidget spinner help your child during EQAO test week?

You can find fidget spinners hypnotically whirring away in classrooms all over the country, but could this year's latest toy craze prove to be more than a mere distraction during EQAO exam week?

In some cases, maybe, says psychologist and author Sara Dimerman, based in Thornhill, Ont.

Dimerman says fidget toys especially the finger-held spinners leading the craze can help some students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorderor autism by offering a form of self-stimulating behaviour, or "stimming" as it is knownin the psychology world.

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"It seems to have a calming kind of response, especially in children with autism, but in all children and adults, in fact," DimermantoldMetro Morningon Monday.

Dimerman keeps a basket of fidget toys in her Toronto office and she says they helpsome of her patients during visits.

Under the right circumstances, she said she thinks those benefits could transfer to the classroom. Students in grades 3 and6in Toronto are writing Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) exams this week in reading, writing and math.

"Just being able to engage in a mindless activity like that allows [children] to keep their hands a bit busy and keep their minds on the teacher at the front of the classroom, for example," Dimerman said.

But while the toys are marketed in part based on similar claims, they havebeen found to offer little more than agitating distraction to other kids.

Dimerman says that's a particular challenge in a school setting, where the spinning and sometimes loud toys can draw attention from all over the classroom

"A child that hasn't been diagnosed with any concern might just be distracted by that," she said.

So for now, she's recommending teachers keep them out of the classroom, but to let the students who find them usefulspin and fidget away during breaks.