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Letters To Jan
7 New Features in Time Timer iPhone App!
Seven new features will appear in the Time Timer iPhone App next week, giving fans of this visual timer new groundbreaking ways to manage and enjoy their time! See the Pinterest Preview. 
If you currently own the Time Timer iPhone or iPod Touch App, look for this free update in your iTunes soon. New users can download the $1.99 Time Timer App here.
Top New Feature
With this new update, you will be able to display up to four Time Timers at once, helping you visualize time for multiple projects, children or blocks of time simultaneously.
Check out the full new feature list below – features marked with a star * were suggested by Facebook Fans!
All New Features
1. *Name and customize your Timers.
2. *Save each Timer to use again.
3. Run up to four Timers at once.
4. View each Timer full-screen – or see up to four together on a single screen.
5. *Set by touch – or simply pick a number.
6. *Quickly pause, edit and restart your Timers.
7. *Awake Mode: make sure your iPhone doesn't fall asleep while Timers are running!
How It Works
1. From the "My Timers" screen, press "Add Timer."
2. Choose a Timer Mode: Original 60 Minutes, Custom or Clock.
3. Set the Duration, Number of Plays and Options. Save.
4. From any screen, tap the Home icon in the upper-left corner.
5. Select up to four Timers and press "Play Timers."
6. Tap "Play All!"
Check in tomorrow for more updates on the Time Timer iPhone App
Letters to Jan: Surgery, Sailors, ADHD and Autism!
Jan Rogers invented the Time Timer to help families like hers make every moment count. If you use your Time Timer in a clever or fun way, please email your Letter to Jan!
This month, we received one of our best-ever Letters to Jan. A man recovering from surgery wrote:
"I have to tell you my personal experience with your Time Timers. I developed a detached retina and went through surgery. As part of the recovery, I had to keep my head parallel to the floor 50 minutes of every hour of the day and sleep face down as well for two weeks. I sat in a massage chair, face down, most of the day. I got a 3-inch Time Timer and would set it for my 50 minutes and placed it on the floor where I could see it. Due to complications I ended up having 2 additional surgeries and each time had to repeat the process. My Time Timer was one of the few things that got me through it without going nuts." Wow!
Time Timer for – Sailing?
Here's a first! In March, we visited seaside Baltimore for the NSSEA Ed Expo. A family from the Bahamas visited our booth and imagined using the Time Timer for youth sailing competitions, timing how quickly they completed the course. Very cool! Click here to see the new Time Timer trade show booth!
More time in the morning!
This mom uses her Time Timer the same way Jan does – to help her get ready in the morning.
"I love using the Time Timer! It has helped my ADHD son learn how to pace himself in the morning so that he can get dressed for school and still have time for play. My Autistic son has learned better turn taking/sharing by having the timer count down how much time he has to play with the computer, or watch his favorite TV show. And I use it to keep track of how much time I have before I have to get out the door, so I can make better use out of my time, And it's incredibly durable! It stands up to the humidity of my sons' shower time, and has just survived a fall to my brick patio. Replaced the battery and it's still working and still accurate!"
Thank you for your sweet letter! Learn more about Time Timer for Special Needs >>
Mommy Shorts!
MommyShorts.com wrote a fun blog about setting time limits for her toddler, Mazzy:
"Mike and I are now on the same page because we can both use the clock for reference. He doesn't have to remember what limit I set for Mazzy because it's right there in front of him. And we are both less likely to go against the other's wishes by allowing Mazzy additional time.
In other words— the timer not only makes setting limits easier, it makes us more apt to stick to them." Read more from MommyShorts >>
Suburban Snapshots sums it up best: "I like (Time Timer) a lot better than my "It's about as long as one Dora" method." Haha!
Autism and the Christmas Connection by Jennifer Krumins
Happy Holidays to our friends around the world!
Because so many Time Timer fans have children with Autism, we're delighted to bring you this blog by Canadian author and Autism Aspirations founder Jennifer Krumins. Jennifer has written several books, including "Autism and the Grandparent Connection," to help families navigate ASD. Look for her @ Autism Aspirations on Facebook.
Autism and the Christmas Connection
by Jennifer Krumins, Autism Aspirations
T'is the season to be jolly... right? I hope so. For many of us in the Autism community, whether we celebrate Christmas or not, the Christmas season may be a time of increased stress and anxiety. This is the time of year when we find the malls, the music, the running here and there to be too much.
How much more difficult would it be if you did not have the ability to cope with the loud music, strong smells, jostling of people, the decorations changing your school, home and familiar places? That's the reality for our children.
Tonight, months of shopping, cleaning, decorating, visiting and shaking up our schedules will bring us to Christmas Eve. I know many families in the Autism community here in Toronto with special Christmas Eve traditions (even the families who celebrate other winter holidays). We're all longtime Time Timer fans. I have what must be one of the first Time Timers ever made!
Here's how your Time Timer can help you and your children with Autism enjoy the next two hectic days.
#1 HOW MUCH LONGER?
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day can be a flurry of new activity. Even the most high-functioning child with Autism can become easily overwhelmed. It's a lot of hurry up and wait ~ hurry to Grandma's, wait to open presents, hurry up and take a bath, wait while we cook that extra long dinner, etc.
Discuss with your family the maximum amount of time that your child can wait. Set your Time Timer. Follow through: when the timer is up, the child can start eating / opening presents / etc even if everything isn't perfectly ready yet.
Having a time frame for waiting makes it easier to endure – for everyone! And it'll help the extended family give your child some extra Christmas love by settling into his/her schedule.
#2 SHOW ~ Don't Tell!
For many people with Autism, a picture is worth a thousand words! Your whole family can use the Time Timer to easily interact with your child, showing him/her:
- How long will we be at the church service, party or dinner table?
- How many minutes until we open gifts?
- When will the cookies be baked? Dinner made?
- How long will we play this game? Read this story?
- How fast can everyone get in their pyjamas and into bed?
This helps your relatives, who may be a little shy or uncertain about Autism, begin communicating with your child in a visual way.
#3 THE GIFT OF TIME
Time Timers offer a visual reminder that while your child's comforting routine may be thrown off, time is still preditable. 20 minutes is always 20 minutes. That realization can be powerful. When the upteenth camera flash hits his eyes on Christmas Day, or the third great-grandmother offers her a smothering hug, that's the perfect time for your child to glance at the Time Timer and realize that it's only been 5 minutes. They're handling it. They're growing stronger and more in control of their time. They're OK. Time is predictable when life is not. At this special time of year, that understanding can be the sweetest gift your child receives.
Happy New Year to all,
Jennifer Krumins and family
Autism Aspirations
Jennifer Krumins is a full-time teacher in Ontario with 22 years experience in special education and the regular classroom. A mother of three (one of whom has Autism), she is currently a special education resource teacher in a classroom for children severly affected by Autism. Jennifer has written three books, including Been There, Done That: Finally Getting It Right, A Guide to Educational Planning for Students with Autism; and One Step at a Time: ABA and Autism in the Classroom ~ Practical Strategies for Implementing Applied Behavior Analysis for Students with Autism. Her latest book is Autism and the Grandparent Connection: Practical Ways to Understand and Help your Grandchild with Autism.
