BridgingApps just published the following BridgingApps Reviewed App on the site:
Fun Time Timer by CodigoDelSur is a colorful and visually engaging app that parents of toddlers with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome or children with developmental delays can use the app to provide a visual reference for time. This timer is a great free tool that can be used in a variety of situations.
The app opens to a home page where options are available to turn the sounds on and off, set the time from 10 seconds to an hour and start the timer. Once the timer is started, a tree is featured in the foreground with a sun, clouds and bird in the background. At the top of the page is a large circle, representing the time left that counts down by moving clockwise until it stops at zero. A snail moving along a bar at the bottom of the page also provides a visual reference of how much time is left. Children can touch the background pictures to make them move, change colors or disappear as they wait for the timer to end. Once time is up, voices of children are heard saying yea and balloons rise up from the bottom of the page.
This is a great tool to use with children who do not yet understand the concept of time and need visual and auditory cues to attend to a task for a specific amount of time. This timer can be used with toddlers who need to attend to a task such as playing or reading for five minutes. It can also be used when potty training to help children understand to sit on the potty for a specified amount of time before they can get up. For older children with autism spectrum disorder, this app can be used to help with conversational turn taking by setting the timer to have a conversation with another person for five minutes. This app can also be used for children of all ages and learning abilities to help with timeout. The child can be placed in timeout and not able to get up until they see or hear the timer complete.
This app was trialed with a 25-month-old child with autism spectrum disorder to assist mom in setting limits with the use of timeout. Prior to the use of the app, mom would try to implement timeout, but the child would quickly get out of the corner. SLP suggested this app to help the young child understand the concept of time with the visual and auditory references. Mom set the timer, placed the child in the corner, and sat next to the child with the app and said “We can’t get up until the snail reaches the finish line.†The timer was initially set for a minute and the child quickly got up. The SLP recommended starting with 30 seconds and the child was able to sit and watch the timer go off before getting up. Mom reported she would try this throughout the week and work on slowly increasing the time during subsequent weeks.
This app is a simple, yet effective tool, in helping children understand the concept of time with visually enticing graphics and fun, engaging sounds. This app is highly recommended as a quick, go-to reference for parents to use with their children in a variety of situations from sitting and attending to timeout.
Click on the link below for full review:
https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/5c1d4166-a6c7-9d1b-794f-7f6f0dcf1e53