I Forgot to Remember….

I had the opportunity to journey and present at the 2014 AT Across the Lifespan Conference, in Wisconsin Dells this past week. As an ATR staff member , I presented on the topic, “I Forgot to Remember…” ,  providing an basic overview of low to medium AT resources for memory and organization challenges. Although not inclusive (that could take hours!) my review and categorized list of low tech to high-tech organization AT tools targeted school aged to post-secondary students and adults. At ATR we get many different combination of challenges  with the clients we evaluate as an OT and ATP.

One method of identifying specific organization challenges with high school aged and older students I use is  the ” Organization Problems Inventory”  created by Judi Sweeney , from Onion Mountain Tech.com. The Organization Problems Inventory  identifies strengths and weaknesses using six organization categories. From an AT stand point, the categories help identify and quantify areas of academic organization strengths and challenges and help target specific areas of organizational need. AT solutions can then be identified in the area or areas of greatest need.

Certainly, this is only one of many tools for evaluation of organization or executive function of students or clients serviced (not limited to TBI, ASD, LD, stroke, pain, cognitive impairment or mental health challenges).  Other important evaluation components needed during the evaluation includes information about the clients environment, tasks and resources/supports (SETT Format*) related to the concerns being assessed.

One of the categories of the “Organization Problems Inventory“ is temporal organization or time management. Just a few of the medium temporal/ time management tools reviewed were:

• Timer and Stop Watch – portable,  single, battery operated timer/stop watch

• Cadex Watch – 8 alarms (sound and or vibration) with long duration. Easy to set.

• TimeTimer – Visual timer with handle, protective lens and volume control.

• Rosie Reminder Clock – Provides verbal reminders of scheduled events.

Here are a few high-tech apps to assist with time management with reminders:

• Alarmed! app – free for iOS provides options of setting pre-set alarms with persistent reminders on iPhones, iPod Touch, iPad.

• Audio Reminder Pro – free for Android provides options of setting pre-set alarms with reminders.

• TimeTimer app – iOS; 2.99 – Visual timer for iOS and Android.

Another option is your iOS or Android mobile device or phone’s native clock app. Both the iOS clock on my iDevices and the clock in my Samsung Galaxy Tab S provide the ability to pre-set alarms, choose sounds and reocurring alarms by date/days, time and for a programmed number of days or forever! The clock can be set with one or  numerous reminders, a countdown timer or stop watch. A handy utility tool for therapy!

Certainly there are many more apps and tools reviewed during the “I Forgot to Remember” presentation, but too many to mention here.

I expect that other who use iOS or Android devices have their own favorite reminder or time management apps or tools. What do you use or recommend for your clients with time management challenges?

More for your OT mTool Kit!

References:

Zabala, J., 2005. SETT Format. Retrieved on November 15, 2014 from: http://www.joyzabala.com/uploads/Zabala_SETT_Scaffold_Data_Gathering.pdf .O

Organization Problems Inventory (2006): n. pag. Onion Mountain Tech, 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

Carol