The Klokk and its role in managing time
We all know what a clock is for – to tell the time, not so?
My speciality is child clinical psychology, and I became aware of the importance of time management when I began working with ADHD children some 30 years ago. One of the common issues raised was the difficulty parents experienced when asking their child to switch off a screen (video game, TV, cell phone). The typical picture was one of a parent nagging, and eventually angrily switching it off, and the child becoming resentful and acting out. Repeated warnings by a parent that time was running out (“You have 5 more minutes .. … 3 more minutes ..”) made no difference at all. And even when the child “appeared” to respond by switching off, they did not learn from this experience, and the process would be repeated the next time around.
Over the many years of my private practice I have taught thousands of parents how to modify a standard wall clock to aid in teaching their children to monitor time.
As a result, I decided to take my concept and create this app.
Understanding why there is temper
The underlying problem with ADHD children is not simply Inattention or Hyperactivity. It is instead a combination of disorganisation and emotional dysregulation. Disorganisation refers to the difficulty such children (and adults) have with forward planning.
As a result, there is surprise and a sense of being overwhelmed. Emotional dysregulation refers to the lower threshold for emotions that these children have. They simply cannot deal with the same level of stress or excitement that other children can, and react sooner.
The aim of monitoring time is to keep a check on where we are along the path of our journey.
Another way of conceptualising the process is that it is a method of self-regulation. To put it bluntly, it enables us to accept the inevitable … which makes it easier to suck it up.
Traps, obstacles and a strategy
ADHD children are very single-minded in their pursuit of an interest. They hyperfocus and ignore everything else in the world! Playing a video game is the only thing that exists for them at that moment in time …. and the upshot of this is that there is a strong likelihood that they will become totally unaware of the existence of a clock or timer.
The danger now is that parents will keep reminding the child to “watch the clock”. The consequence of this is disastrous. Children who are disorganised or highly single-minded end up being nagged all the time. This impacts on their self-esteem and they come to see others as persecutors and themselves as not-ok.
The question then is how does the parents help the child to watch time passing and still retain their self-esteem? How can we help the child believe that it was they that was successful, and not another for prompting them?
The answer lies in how a prompt is delivered. To directly tell a child what to do can become a negative act. Better to do this indirectly, in a way they are unaware or do not attribute to a parent.
For this reason, the Klokk has a sound cue, which can be programmed to appear on a regular basis, and which will cause the child to glance in the direction of the Klokk. The frequency of this sound cue can be chosen, or left out altogether. I recommend that it be set for at least 10 minutes for all children starting out.
The Klokk is geared towards training a child to visual time frames. The time frame image used with the Klokk is not as above, but rather represents the time frame on a diver’s watch, which was my inspiration for the Klokk 25 years ago.
There will also be other developments of the Klokk for time management enskilling. Keep an eye out.
Best regards
Derek Cohen
Clinical Psychologist
March 2019
You may find out more about me here: www.theclinicalpsychologist.com.au