Guest Blogs

Gadgets You Can Wear

Attention deficit keeps kids on the move — so these devices to help manage symptoms go wherever they do.

Time Timer Watch Plus

timetimer.com

My daughter Natalie and I were already fans of the Time Timer brand when I learned about the new Time Timer Watch Plus. We had been using the eight-inch visual timer (#CommissionsEarned) at home for years. A red disc that slowly disappears as time passes helps Nat, a concrete thinker, stay on task.

The new Time Timer Watch Plus is a value-added addition to Time Timer’s product line. The watch has the original visual timer, which shows the time you choose as a segment of a 60-minute clock face. The watch can also be set so that the complete red disc represents a set length of time, say 20 minutes. The disc gets progressively smaller as time passes. It features vibrating and audible alerts and repeatable time segments.

Natalie tested the Time Timer Watch Plus, which helped her be more independent. She set the alarm to alert her when it was time to go to the nurse’s office to take her afternoon meds, something she’d relied on teachers to help her remember. She also took over setting the timer in math class to show how long she was expected to work before taking a structured break. Nat and I heartily recommend the Time Timer Watch Plus. It works.

Chewelry Heart Necklace(#CommissionsEarned)

kidcompanions.com

Natalie needs to have something in her mouth to provide sensory input to her easily bored brain. Her elementary school teachers and I worked on substituting more socially acceptable forms of oral stimulation for soggy shirt sleeves and slobbery fingers, by offering her a chew stick, hard candy, and gum. I thought we’d succeeded in managing these behaviors, but just before starting middle school, Nat started sucking her fingers.

I searched for chewy products discreet enough to use in middle school, and appropriate for her age. I settled on the Chewelry Heart Necklace, a heart-shaped medallion made of medical-grade polymer — fastened to a 100 percent cotton ribbon lanyard.

Nat wears her Chewelry two ways: hanging around her neck, so she can fidget with the heart and slip it discreetly into her mouth, and wrapped twice around her wrist. When she raises her fingers to put them in her mouth, the heart reminds her to chew on it, not her digits. The heart and the lanyard are hand-washable. Just let them air-dry.

NOTE: Please note that all names, models, prices, links, and specifications were accurate and items were in stock at the time of this article’s last update on February 5, 2022.

#CommissionsEarned As an Amazon Associate, ADDitude earns a commission from qualifying purchases made by ADDitude readers on the affiliate links we share. However, all products linked in the ADDitude Store have been independently selected by our editors and/or recommended by our readers. Prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication