Time Blind or Time Proof?: ADHD & Alternative Temporalities

Abstract

Time blindness is a common symptom ascribed to individuals experiencing ADHD or the spectrum of ADHD symptoms. However, it is most often characterized as a deficit to functioning properly, whether this is in the workplace, schools, or relationships. Like much of the information surrounding neurodiversity, “time blindness” is a gross oversimplification of people with ADHD’s felt experience of time. For individuals with ADHD, measuring changes in attention and shifts in chronoception (the perception of time) can be achieved through an analysis of art practice. This paper looks critically at the role that time plays in the lives of neurodiverse and neurotypical people alike.