It has been estimated that nearly 10% of children in the United States have ADHD, making it one of the most common learning disabilities in the human population.
Research has also shown that, on average, people with ADHD tend to experience time differently than populations without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. While the latter group may experience time as a sequence, people with ADHD typically define their time perception as being much less orderly.
As a result of this difference in time perception, individuals with ADHD are more inclined to procrastinate, be tardy, do things in the wrong order, and misestimate time remaining.
Time management can be difficult enough for people without ADHD, but for those with ADHD, it is imperative to take the steps necessary to get a handle on time perception.
This is especially true of children, who are perhaps more sensitive to the pressures and struggles that come with time management.
We here at Time Timer understand that it is important to give children the tools they need to succeed in the classroom, no matter the child’s ability, and we strive to create those tools.
Classroom Time Management with our ADHD-Friendly Time Timers
What makes Time Timer visual timers such an effective time management tool for students with ADHD is that it makes time visual. This makes the question “how much time do I have left?” readily perceptible in the form of an elapsing disk.
Making this simple and visible answer for “how much” a constant in a setting can be incredibly helpful for someone with ADHD who may be prone to losing their grasp on solid time perception. With the glimpse of a red disk, the question is right there in front of them, and they can get back to focusing on the task at hand.
Time Timer MOD Education Edition
For ADHD students who find time management to be especially stressful, we recommend the Time Timer MOD Education Edition, which comes in a variety of colors that are specifically designed to induce calm and confidence in the viewer. Since color has been shown to have an impact on people’s mood, our Time Timer MODs are designed to influence the user’s mood to something relaxing, with the color options being Charcoal Gray, Lime Green, or Sky Blue, along with many other additional colors that you can purchase to suit students’ needs.
Time Timer Dry Erase Board
We additionally recommend the Time Timer Dry Erase Board as an accessory to the MOD Education Edition. Our Dry Erase Board, which can be purchased as a set with Time Timer MOD, can help in the subdivision of tasks for a day in class.
Students with ADHD will benefit from the Dry Erase Board because it provides a visual representation of one important feature of their time perception: connecting time directly to events. With a running red-disk visual timer next to the tasks written on the board, students with ADHD will have an accessory that lines up well with their own time perception, and will therefore be able to work more accurately.