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Time Blindness & Five Reasonable Accommodations

Writer's picture: J. SinghJ. Singh

Updated: Aug 24, 2023


I recently came across a viral video related to time blindness. Obviously, given the scope of the virality of the video, there is no shortage of hot-takes in the comments section. I’m not one of those commenters though: I prefer to do my own thing. And this is my take.


So, let’s get one thing straight: She’s referring to time blindness as it relates to ADHD, as she states in this video:


Now that we've cleared that up, here's my take on the issue of time blindness: Yes, it exists. Yes it's very real. No it isn't made up. No you can't just get rid of it if you try hard enough. With me so far? Good.


The fact is that time blindness exists. Is time blindness a recognized symptom of ADHD in accordance with the DSM-V TR? No, not exactly. If it were, I believe that we would be having a very different conversation since ADHD is a recognized disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to CHADD, "For an employee who has ADHD, the act can require the employer to provide reasonable accommodations, as long as it doesn’t create undue hardship for the business.”


The reason I write not exactly is due to the fact that the DSM-V TR does not call it time blindness, and the diagnostic criteria most certainly do not go into much detail about it either, however here is what little it mentions about issues related to time: The individual usually “has difficulty organizing tasks and activities (e.g., difficulty managing sequential tasks; difficulty keeping materials and belongings in order; messy, disorganized work; has poor time management; fails to meet deadlines).” (APA, 2022, p. 68-69)


So, while poor time management and failures to meet deadlines are specifically mentioned within the DSM as diagnostic criteria, there is not really anything in there as it relates to accommodations in the real world.


It is my opinion that time blindness is much more than a mere difficulty in meeting deadlines, or the inability to manage time: Yes, those two things happen as a result of time blindness, but they are symptoms of the condition, not the condition itself! What neurotypical individuals fail to grasp about ADHD, specifically time blindness, is that time blindness is a warped perception of time.


In other words, individuals who have ADHD have a measurably skewed sense of time: I say this not in a derogatory sense, but rather as an explanatory statement. This skewed sense of time is not a bad thing, just different. An explorative review of the current state of research on ADHD and time blindness in adults found that “adult patients with ADHD have problems in the estimation of time intervals, in the reproduction of time intervals, and in the management of time.” (Mette, 2023)


Do we tell the individual who is nearsighted that their condition is made up? That it is not real? That if they just squint their eyes hard enough, they can see somewhat clearly most of the time, therefore, accommodations are not necessary. Note: Corrective (prescription) lenses and frames to hold said lenses are a sort of de facto accommodation for the condition. We do not tell the individual who is nearsighted not to wear glasses because they should not need them to be successful. We do not make them feel guilty for wearing glasses during their workday and their leisure time. No, we accept it as a real condition because the evidence is readily available to us that the condition exists.


The problem with ADHD is that the disorder is shrouded by misinformation, misunderstanding, and outright stigma. So, when individuals speak out about the symptoms that they experience in daily life—such as, but not limited to, time blindness—they are relentlessly mocked and ridiculed (as this creator on TikTok was).


The neurotypical understanding— if one can even call it that, judging from the comments in the TikTok videos—seems to be somewhat infantile at best, and purposely skewed toward trolling. That time blindness is an all-or-nothing phenomenon is strange, not to mention rather frustrating. Yes, the sense of time for someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD is skewed, however, that does not mean that they cannot be on time 100% of the time: Metaphorically speaking, to the individual who has ADHD-related time blindness being on time can feel like walking on broken glass. Is it possible for them? Sure. Painful and exhausting? Yes. Can they make it to their destination eventually by walking over the glass long enough, and starting the walk early enough? Sure. But would you want to walk over broken glass repeatedly, day in and day out? I thought not.


According to Dr. Russell Barkley, time blindness can be described as “temporal myopia. This means nearsightedness when it comes to time. The farther away something is, the harder it is to get a clear picture of timing.” Furthermore, according to Understood.org, “Brain differences in people with ADHD can make it harder to have an accurate sense of time. Some research points to executive function challenges. Other research suggests that time blindness is also related to differences in the cerebellum.”


So, time blindness is real. And I would even argue that it is as deserving of accommodations as an individual’s nearsightedness.


Before I proceed, I would like to clarify that none of this is medical advice. Whatever accommodations you require need to be worked out between you, your physician/therapist, and the relevant department within your company/school.


Here are a few ideas for possible accommodations, in my humble opinion:


  1. Getting paid by the result, not the hour: In other words, allow the individual working to work at their own pace. If the work gets done and results are delivered, they should get paid. In other words, value the results they generate for the corporation more than the hours they necessarily put in.

  2. Makeup days: Say the individual has an issue with being late in the mornings chronically. Instead of docking pay or penalizing the behavior (which, again, is caused by a skewed sense of time. Not because the person is lazy) – allow the individual to make up the time they were late on a weekend.

  3. Makeup hours: If allowing the individual to make up the time they were late on a weekend/holiday is not possible, allow them to stay later at work to make up the time, without applying any penalties for being late, up to 30 minutes every workday.

  4. Rigid policies, but not-so-rigid consequences: Allow me to explain this one, if you will. Think about a policy like “If you are late to class/lecture 4 times, then you are going to be dropped from the program.” – if someone has a documented disability (such as ADHD) and they are aware that they struggle with issues related to time blindness, then a reasonable accommodation for a policy like this would be, “if you are late to the program more than 4 times, then for every time you are late, you will have to write an essay at the end of the class, starting at 1000 words on the 5th time, with the word count increasing by 200 every time you are late thereafter.” – in fact, let the essay be about the things that the individual may have missed in the class due to being late. This makes much more sense than simply kicking them out of the class for an issue that they have likely struggled with their entire lives because of the way their brain is wired.

  5. Consider rewarding all students/employees for being on time: Say an employee has a perfect on-time record for a week. Reward them for doing so! Reinforce the behavior you want to see as a professor/manager instead of simply punishing the behavior you do not want to see.


In conclusion, I would like to end by saying that time blindness is a very real symptom of ADHD. It is not some kind of get-out-of-jail-free card, or some kind of excuse for not respecting punctuality and other people's time. While the individuals who suffer from it have likely been told repeatedly (by teachers, bosses, mentors, and society at large) for most of their lives that it is simply a moral failing–i.e., their own personal moral failing–it is important to understand that at its very core: Time blindness is not a choice. No more than being near-sighted is a choice. Education, first and foremost, amongst the general public would be the ideal first step; but more importantly, empathy and not assigning blame also go a long way.




References (for academic sources)


Print version style: American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787


Mette, C. Time Perception in Adult ADHD: Findings from a Decade—A Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 3098. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043098

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