Boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder builds device to him stay focused

Jakob always loved to tinker and create things. He works with CAD designs and 3D printing. Because the boy’s father works in product development, he has access to a 3D printer at work. So Jakob soon started using a modelling program to craft designs at home. He would then email the plans to his father, who would print them at work, and bring home the printed versions the next day.

Using Autodesk Fusion 360, Jakob built Gyrings, which consists of five concentric rings around a ball. He was 12 years old when he created the first version of this innovation, which aims to people with ADHD stay focused in school or any task at hand. The inventor’s teacher gave him devices that were lackluster. So Jakob decided to create his own design. “I can make that into a fidget toy. Just make the centre part spherical, and create rings around it that spin around each other and interlock. It just amazed me that I could do something on the computer and then have it in my hand. And it solved a real problem”, he explained.

The teenager asked his friends to help him test the device. The first models came in several sizes, ranging from one to three inches in diameter, but had sharper corners on the insides of the rings. So Jakob has been working on improving the design ever since. However, his friends' feedback was positive.

“As a young active boy with ADHD, I realized that a small, quiet, fidget toy was a great idea. I continued designing, making it smaller with softer edges. I found myself carrying it around and playing with it often. As people made comments, I continued to improve the design. I noticed that people who held them instinctively played with them. Conversations continued while people fidgeted away. It took several years and many iterations to create GyRings as it is today”, he described.

The inventor started selling his device online and in retail stores in Boston. He signed a licensing deal with Ceaco, which means that Gyrings will be part of its Brainwright brand of toys, so they will soon be available in Target, Barnes and Noble, and Wegmans.

Gyrings can be bought online for $8.99 and can be used by children over eight years old.

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/2JEvDMh
https://bit.ly/2JDqRPd

More info: https://gyrings.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgZM_MnaHuA