App or device to give reminders to easily distracted child

[Anonymous]

My 8 yo son has ADHD, so not surprisingly things like getting dressed in the morning or picking up his toys turns into a horribly drawn out affair where I have to constantly be on him with reminders to put down whatever has distracted him and get back on task. Has anyone found an app or device we could use to give an audio chime or alert every so many minutes in the hopes that hearing the alert will remind him he's supposed to doing something else, but where he doesn't have to physically turn off an alarm (because if he's actually on task, I don't want him derailed by the interruption of turning off the alarm). I think something that I could set to, for instance, chime three times every five minutes. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Time timer has an app, but they also have different forms of clocks:
http://www.timetimer.com/collections/all

Personally, I would put this kind of clock in the bathroom so he can visualize how much time has elapsed. (I wouldn't use an app.)

Casio and Timex also make waterproof watches that do vibrating alarms. Chimes at school will be distracting to others.

If he's spending too much on the iPad, you need to monitor that in other ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Time timer has an app, but they also have different forms of clocks:
http://www.timetimer.com/collections/all

Personally, I would put this kind of clock in the bathroom so he can visualize how much time has elapsed. (I wouldn't use an app.)

Casio and Timex also make waterproof watches that do vibrating alarms. Chimes at school will be distracting to others.

If he's spending too much on the iPad, you need to monitor that in other ways.

He has clocks around so if he thinks to look at them, he knows how much time has gone by, but the trick is getting him to look before time has run out. I found an app that has what I'm looking for, (it's called RepeatTimer, if anyone else is looking for the same thing). The alert noise is kind of annoying and there doesn't appear to be a way to change it, but I've promised my son that if it seems to help him, then I'll spend a little money on something with a less annoying sound.

This is just something to be used at home, not at school, so I don't need to worry about noise. Devices aren't an issue, it's toys and books he gets distracted with, the app is on an old iPod that doesn't have any other apps (and wifi is turned off), so there's nothing else he can with it to provide new distractions.

[Anonymous]

Time timer has better visuals. If there's a clock in the house, put a sticky on the number where he need to turn off the TV or whatever.

Also, even if he can tell time, he may not be able to tell time. Lots of kids with ADHD will get distracted and loose sense of time. Like going up to brush teeth b/f bed or going to school, what should take less than 5 minutes stretches out to 20 b/c a kid gets of track.

[Anonymous]

Time Timer is the closest we've found. The peril of apps is that they come on light-up devices that are themselves huge distractions.

[Anonymous]

This isn't an app, but there's a reminder watch for ADHD kids out there that was created by a doctor and allows you to program alarms and phrases for different times and change them or keep them the same-you can have updated to 30 a day-and there are pre-programmed reminders as well, from take a break to go to the bathroom etc..it is called the watchminder. My kid likes it a lot, though I will say, the watch itself could be made stronger. The person selling it has sent us a new watch, battery, charging part and strap without blinking (guess he knows how hard ADHD kids can be on their stuff!) it's called "the watchminder 3". There is also a way to put in timers of how many minutes per day or week your child can use the Internet, iPad etc. we used to do that. When it is reached, only a parent via password protection can extend the account. Would that work for you? Call apple and ask them to help you set it up for free on the iPad, and they can also help you block certain kinds of websites etc if that works too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't an app, but there's a reminder watch for ADHD kids out there that was created by a doctor and allows you to program alarms and phrases for different times and change them or keep them the same-you can have updated to 30 a day-and there are pre-programmed reminders as well, from take a break to go to the bathroom etc..it is called the watchminder. My kid likes it a lot, though I will say, the watch itself could be made stronger. The person selling it has sent us a new watch, battery, charging part and strap without blinking (guess he knows how hard ADHD kids can be on their stuff!) it's called "the watchminder 3". There is also a way to put in timers of how many minutes per day or week your child can use the Internet, iPad etc. we used to do that. When it is reached, only a parent via password protection can extend the account. Would that work for you? Call apple and ask them to help you set it up for free on the iPad, and they can also help you block certain kinds of websites etc if that works too.

The thing is with a "watch minder" they may be seen as babyish for older kids. Smartwatches can be a little expensive price-wise and some are too fragile for kid wear and tear. That's why I recommend the vibrating, waterproof watches. It's discrete, won't distract others, and the kid can swim or shower with it.

The main thing with timers in general is that kids (like adults) build up resistance to them even subconsciously, e.g.,
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/01/24/265702152/silencing-many-hospital-alarms-leads-to-better-health-care

I think it's best to reinforce with other methods, e.g., visual schedules etc.