A reader writes:

I have two mentally disabled daughters who are severely OCD. They can’t wait for anything. I’ve been looking for a simple linear clock showing 24 hours (or at least 16). I would put pictures of them waking up and going to bed (a.m.and p.m.) at the usual hours. Then I would mount pictures which show their daily activities, placed above the designated hours.The hours would have three dots (quarter hours) between their numbers. When the girls ask “When is lunch?” I’d say “How many dots left?” Ideally, the clock would make a “ping” sound when it reachs an event.
Seen such?

I haven’t, but maybe a digital photo frame and some basic computer drawing skills could do the job.

First, get a digital photo frame that can rotate photos non-randomly on a 15 minute delay.

(I’m not all that familiar with photo frames so I can’t tell you which brands and models do what. You might be able to find out from on-line manuals.)

Then use a basic computer drawing program (such as Microsoft Paint) to draw a picture that includes photographs and a time bar, like so:

(Click to enlarge image. Note that for the sake of simplicity, I’m only showing 12 hours on the linear clock.)

The above picture would be saved under the file name 0800.jpg.

Now move the arrow indicator to the 8:15 mark, like so:

This picture would be saved under the file name 0815.jpg.

Move the arrow indicator to 8:30, like so:

And, of course, this picture would be saved under 0830.jpg.

You would need to make 96 pictures for the full day, but since each picture involves merely moving the arrow and saving under a new file name, making all the pictures is probably something that can be done in less than an hour.

Of course, what I’m showing here is only one concept. You may want to spend more time and be more creative with the time pictures if you find it to be fun. For example, instead of an arrow indicator, you could use a cartoon character who points to the time.

I hope this helps. Sorry, I can’t help with the ping.