Time Concept

[marshmellow3]

My son is 13.  He was diagnosed with ADHD, Visual processing and Auditory processing disorders.  He is a happy well developed child who is actually pretty smart, but because of his ADHD, CPD & APD it is rarely seen on paper.  One must have a conversation with him in order for it to be seen.  Since his younger  years Ian has never really grasped the concept of time. From the smallest degree of time...seconds, to months weeks and years, he doesn't seem to be able to grasp the concetp.  How long it is from one day to the next...how far it is til Christmas, Birthday, weekend, the Andy Griffith show, any thing.  Is this a problem usually associated with his diagnosis or is this something totally different?  How can we as a family help him learn to process the idea of time.  It is how we flow in America, In order to ever make it he will have to grasp the concept of the time and calendar.
Thanks!

[jemmy206]

Thanks all... this is so much better than the forum where they were blaming the Mom... this one at least is inciteful and makes you know your kid's not alone...

[RockRose]

I agree with the others,  this IS an interesting question.  

My oldest son had real trouble with time.  He even had trouble with the concept of "yesterday" and morphed the word into "lasterday" so he could remember it was the last day before this one.    In about  2nd grade,  he really had trouble with the concept of getting to a meeting place,  if the others lived CLOSER to the meeting place why they weren't there before we were.  He really honestly couldn't grasp that they may have left later,  or in fact may not even have left by the time we got there to the meeting place.  I remember how honestly puzzled he was when we went to meet a friend at a pool close to the friend's house,  and the friend wasn't there when we got there.  But he lives CLOSER,  my son kept saying.  Man,  he didn't get it.

BUT then the next year he picked was looking at a tiny spring that came out of a pen.  And he said this is what time is like.  It goes in cycles like cyling around Christmas to Christmas to Christmas,  so it's in a circle but it also moves forward year after year.

???????   How did such a genius thought come out of a child who didn't get time?

My guess,  marshmellow,  is that your son does this too.  He has huge blank spots where he doesn't get the concept and then comes up with something lightening smart in another area.

Sorry to be so long winded.

In our schools,  time is a 2nd grade concept.  They have a lot of exercises,  "about how long does it take to make a sandwich",  "about how long does it take to watch a movie in the theater",  etc.  Very helpful in the concepts.  

I also agree that visuals help.  Do you have an hour glass to demonstrate an hour,  and do you have face clocks in your home?  If you have a face clock,  you can pull the minute hand off and you can still tell time on that clock because time is a circle.  Minute hands help with detailed accuracy,  but you don't really need one on a clock to see about what time it is.

I would also help him with a calendar.  Get a monthly planner where you write stuff down that went on that day,  (write small) and you can use that as a tool.  How many days ago did we go to the dentist?  How many days is it until my birthday?  He can count up and back.  

I think the best thing you can do is not to be frustrated with him,  but very patient and listen to what he says about time.  I bet he has some interesting things to say.  ;D

Again,  so sorry to run on.  Interesting question.

[specialmom]

My son does occupational therapy and this is common with kids with processing issues.  One thing that they use there is a visual clock.  It has a part that you can pull out that shows time actually going away in pie form.  As in if you have 10 minutes to do something, you pull the red part to 10 and it gets smaller and smaller as the time passes so the child can see the time going away.  They make clocks for bedrooms, school class rooms, and wrist watches that do the same thing.  We just got one in the Fall for our son from an occupational therapy website.  It was 35 dollars and worth it.  It might start the process of understanding the way time works.

Also, if you haven't considered occupational therapy, I highly recommend it.  They work on things like life skills (which time concepts fall into), all processing issues (my son has sensory integrationd disorder and has auditory process and visual processing issues too---- as well as other processing issues such as motor planning, tactile defensiveness, and vestibular issues) as well as anything related to social skills and behavior.  We see an occupational therapist that specializes in sensory and processing issues.  Well worth it ----  good luck

[Sandman2]

   Wow, that's a really good question.
My first thought is to make sure that what you want him to do is obtainable at that age.  In many ways, the concept of time is abstract.  Your son is just starting the time of his life when he can began to understand abstract concepts.  For example, there is a huge difference between telling time and understanding how long it really is till next christmas.  
    A child with ADHD always has the problem of not paying attention when something is taught and missing out on important information.  This tends to really show up in math for example.  The other problem is that if you are pretty much focused on the here and now, its kind of hard to even worry about the future - especially at 13.  
  So I guess I am saying - make sure that what you want him to do is something that he can do at this age.  Heck, I know lot of adults who are time challenged.  I would talk to his teachers and see if they have noticed any problem that he has with this.  And I don't mean getting his homework done.  In fact, don't let the fact that ADHD kids are easily distracted (which is why homework takes forever) when doing things and have a hard time finishing anything - get confused with the idea that they lack a notion of time.
  Its highly possible that his ADHD is a reason for his challenges with time.  I have seen lots of adult posts where they use whiteboards, verbal messages, sticky tabs, etc just to remind them of things they have to do.  And it is important to start exploring and teaching him those coping skills.
   Anyway, it is a very good question.  Just like any teacher you will have to first figure out what his needs are, what you want him to do, if its age appropriate, and then how to break it down and teach it.  I googled "teaching concept of time", and I found a lot of ideas - many aimed at the special education community.
   Hope some of this helps.  Its kind of a completed, very interesting subject.