Background: Children in need of special support (INS) often display delays in time-processing ability (TPA) affecting everyday functioning. Typically developing (TD) children are not yet mature to use the information of a clock.
Aim: To investigate the feasibility of an intervention program, MyTime, to facilitate TPA and everyday functioning in pre-school children, including the subjective experiences of pre-school staff and the children.
Materials and methods: The intervention sample consisted of 20 children: 4 INS and 16 TD. Intervention was given daily in 8 weeks with MyTime in the pre-school environment. Data collection procedures were evaluated and children were assessed for TPA pre- and post intervention. Everyday functioning were assessed by teachers, parents and children. Experiences of the intervention were assessed by a group interview with teachers and a Talking Mats© evaluation with children.
Results: MyTime worked well in pre-school and indicated an increase in the children's TPA and everyday functioning. The program was perceived simple to use by teachers and children highlighted the importance to understand the duration of time.
Conclusion: The program MyTime was found to be feasible in the pre-school environment. Significance: The assessment and program design can be used to investigate intervention effectiveness in a randomised study.
Keywords: Occupational therapy; child; early intervention; pre-school children; time perception; time processing ability.