{"id":276,"date":"2010-06-23T22:56:57","date_gmt":"2010-06-24T05:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autism-tips.com\/?p=276"},"modified":"2026-02-25T12:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:23:51","slug":"visual-timer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/?p=276","title":{"rendered":"Visual Timer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Autistic children rely intensively on their <strong>visual<\/strong> skills. I always make sure to use a <strong>visual timer <\/strong>along with the <strong>daily<\/strong> <strong>schedule<\/strong>. The visual timer has the advantage of giving a real feeling of time. It helps estimate the elapsed time and anticipate the remaining time. It compares to the difference between a digital watch and an analogue one (with hour, minute, and second hands). The conventional watch gives a tangible feeling of time.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Timer.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-295\" title=\"Timer\" src=\"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Timer.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"441\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Timer.jpg 441w, https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Timer-300x206.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 441px) 100vw, 441px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Before giving directions to the child get the worksheets, the daily schedule, and the visual timer ready on the desk.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to use the visual timer<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Set the timer to the desired period of time needed for the child to do an assignment.<\/li>\n<li>Be realistic and decide according to the child&#8217;s level and ability to remain seated. Some times the duration doesn&#8217;t exceed five minutes if the child has certain conditions (like ADHD).\u00a0On the other hand some children can do a session of thirty minutes in one sitting.<\/li>\n<li>Tell and show the child that she\/he will be doing this worksheet (or activity) in the displayed time on the visual timer.<\/li>\n<li>Also tell the child as you point to the schedule: &#8220;First Math, then break (play, take a walk&#8230;).<\/li>\n<li>To be even more clear, write this sentence down on a little wipe board.<\/li>\n<li>When time is up the timer will also ring (it makes an audible sound &#8220;beeb, beep&#8221;). So, this will mark the end of session.<\/li>\n<li>Tell the child: &#8220;Math is all done, check your schedule!&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>The child will remove the finished item, as shown in the daily schedule article, and would tell you (if vebal) what to come next.<\/li>\n<li>Set the timer again for the following activity and so on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The children get easily used to use it and they keep checking it, which helps them adjust and prepare themselves to the following step throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>When you set up expectations, the child tends to be more cooperative and compliant.<\/p>\n<p>This tool has helped me a lot in keeping the child on schedule while keeping a good work spirit and saved me a lot of arguing. The more the day is organized, the more efficient.<\/p>\n<p>It can also be used at home for better organization.<\/p>\n<p>There are two sizes. I use the eight inches one, it costs approximately $30.00. This is a friendly size for deskwork. The larger one is more appropriate for a group or classroom activities and is usually hung on the wall.<\/p>\n<p>Mrs. A<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"DiggThisButton DiggMedium\" href=\"http:\/\/digg.com\/educational\/Everyday_Life_with_Autism_Use_a_Visual_Timer\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Autistic children rely intensively on their visual skills. I always make sure to use a visual timer along with the daily schedule. The visual timer has the advantage of giving a real feeling of time. It helps estimate the elapsed time and anticipate the remaining time. It compares to the difference between a digital watch &#8230; <a title=\"Visual Timer\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/?p=276\" aria-label=\"Read more about Visual Timer\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,4],"tags":[381,20,14,13,382,9,24],"class_list":["post-276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autism","category-parenting","category-tips","tag-autism","tag-discipline","tag-organization","tag-schedule","tag-tips","tag-visual-aids","tag-visual-timer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=276"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2479,"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions\/2479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autism-tips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}