Executive dysfunction can make students seem like they have no sense of time, even when you’re using timers, visual supports, verbal reminders, and five-minute warnings.
If you work with students with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, developmental language disorder, or other conditions that impact executive functioning, you may have students who struggle with time management, task completion, transitions, and working independently.
So you give five-minute warnings. You verbally remind them to get ready. You try notifications, digital timers, visual timers, or a time timer.
But they still need an adult to tell them when to start, when to transition, how much time they have left, or whether they’re working at the right pace.
In this video, I explain why time perception is an important piece of executive functioning—and why replacing verbal prompts with another auditory notification may not actually build the skill students are missing.
We’ll also look at why digital timers and visual timers can still require additional cognitive processing for students with working memory and executive functioning challenges, and why an old-school analog clock can give students the visual information they need to begin monitoring the passage of time themselves.
The goal isn’t another tool students need an adult to manage for them. It’s helping students develop the awareness they need to complete tasks and manage transitions with greater independence.
CHAPTERS:
[0:00] Why “five minute warnings” don’t help students get started
[0:31] What to use for time management instead of complicated technology
[1:00] Why verbal prompts can make prompt dependence worse
[2:10] Working on “time management” doesn’t build executive functioning skills
[2:58] The problem with tools that give notifications or alarms to help students pace
[4:05] Why some students still aren’t aware of time, even when they have digital clocks
[5:31] Are the tools you’re giving students overloading their working memory?
[6:10] The ONE tool you can use that helps students sense time effectively
[6:50] How to teach students to pay attention to time during functional tasks
WATCH NEXT
▶️ How We Stopped Prompting This ADHD Student Through Every Assignment and Transition
https://youtu.be/ScQmV-wHAbo
▶️ 5-Steps That Reduce Prompt Dependence in Students with Executive Dysfunction: https://youtu.be/FzakOmycXkA
▶️ Task Planning & Execution Protocol:
https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/task-planning-execution-protocol-26-yt-1/
RESOURCES
👉 Free training: How to Be Evidence-Based and Neurodiversity-Affirming by Supporting Executive Functioning: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
Executive Functioning Implementation Guide for Schools: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efguide
Learn how hundreds of clinicians are building scalable executive functioning interventions in the School of Clinical Leadership: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership
