Before wi-fi days we had Blue's Clues tablets. The ones where you can draw on them and then erase. He love the pressure of having to erase the crayon and the drawing. Would a small white board work? I have seen small ones in the $1 aisle at Target.

Another thing you could try is a Nook. I know you can download kid books that the Nook will read aloud. I think you can use a headphone with it.

We use the ipad. There are several "go to" apps Elliott will use if youtube isn't working. Maybe we're lucky for that.

A few weeks ago we were at a restaurant and he was getting restless (4 year old) and for some reason I just started squeezing his calves, then kind of massaging them, and he got instantly relaxed, loved it. For about 20 minutes he just laid back like a zombie while I rubbed his calves. If I stopped he grabbed my hand to continue. I had never seen that before! Haven't had a chance to try it again.

Good day, if we are going out to eat, i usually do it during a time where there is less people,of coarse it does not work in my favor some of the time.My daughter is 14 yrs old and very impatient, if it is an eatery we are going to I would look up the menu online,this way I would know what we are going to order(cuts your idle time )I know I have approximately 12-15 minutes before my little darling raises the roof :))

I used to pack a "Grandma bag" of things to do--books, wikki-sticks, clay, crayons, etc.

Silly putty is also a good distraction...until the child figures out that it bounces >_< Fidget toys like "wacky tracks" are also great. http://www.nationalautismresources.com/klixx.html Something else I do with my son is talk with him before we go into the restaurant about goals/rewards for good behavior. "If you can keep a quiet mouth and a calm body while we are in the restaurant, you can earn a treat after dinner." If I sense he is starting to get a little 'hyper', I gently remind him of the goal "quiet mouth, calm body if you want treats". I think this gives him the feeling of being able to control the outcome rather than me just ordering compliance.