A young woman named Sarah Trefren has recently brought up a discussion about the concept of "time blindness," after sharing her story of being "yelled at" for asking for accommodations at work.
Trefren, who revealed she has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), took to TikTok about a phone interview for her application for a trade school. She claimed she asked a "very reasonable question," but said her mother, who was sitting in on the phone call with her, "interrupted and acted like [she] was asking something else," the New York Post reported.
"Then when we were done they actually started yelling at me and saying accommodations for time blindness don't exist and if you struggle being on time you will never be able to get a job," Trefren added.
The TikTok video has now garnered more than 6 million views and went viral within days of being posted late last month. Her video also had over 500,000 comments, most of which slammed her for her "absolutely ridiculous" and "idiotic" take.
Trefren Doubles Down
Despite some backlash about the concept of not doing something to mitigate her own time blindness, Trefren made another video explaining the full context of her story and what kind of accommodations she was hoping for.
She said she was hoping the trade school would offer her a "15-minute window" in which she could arrive and for "more time" to be allowed to be late. Trefren explained the school she was applying to had a rule that if a person was late by more than four times, he or she would be kicked out of the program.
"When I posted the video I thought everyone would know I was referring to ADHD time blindness," she added, claiming she was not ready for the "ableism" she would experience as a result.
The term "ableism" in the context of neurodiversity and disability means the discrimination and social prejudice against people with physical, mental, or neurological disabilities like ADHD.
Trefren also responded to claims she was "selfish" and thought everyone must bend their time to her because she apparently does not have respect for anyone's time.
"I just think other people's struggles and getting them help needs to come before profit," she asserted.
Time Blindness and ADHD
While time blindness is not a diagnosis in itself, it is a common behavioral trait associated with ADHD, which could see people struggle with losing track of time or being unable to accurately gauge how much time has passed. Problems arising from time blindness include under- or over-estimating how much time a task would take, chronically missing deadlines or arriving late, and constantly "losing track of time."
Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and author of "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," told Fox Business that time blindness is "not just someone being inconsiderate - it's a real thing."
She explained that people having time blindness could "underestimate how much time something will take and overestimate how quickly they can accomplish a task," like missing deadlines at work because they started late or lost track of time.
ADHDers to Trefren: 'Do Some Effort Too'
However, there were also many commenters who claimed they also struggled with time blindness and time management due to their ADHD but claimed it was not on an employer to accommodate such an issue.
"I have ADHD. [T]he accommodations [I have] are clocks and setting alarms and waking up earlier," one person wrote.
"As someone with ADHD, I always look at how long it will take to get to a destination and multiple alarms," another said. "You're just being 'lazy' or victimizing yourself if you can't do those simple solutions I mentioned above."
Other commenters also try to ask Trefren to reverse the situation and wonder if she was the one being negatively impacted by people being late due to time blindness.
"Would you accommodate your employer for paying you 5 days later due to their 'time blindness'?" one person asked.
"Does 'time blindness' apply when going to a movie, concert, or anything else that starts at a certain time? Or is it just work?" another added.
Australian occupational therapist Selah Dimech responded to Trefren's video, explaining the reality behind time blindness and asking for workplace accommodations.
"I think what is tricky is she was talking about a situation about arriving somewhere on time and because of that, that is why people are enraged," she explained.
Dimech added that if workplace accommodations negatively impact other employees, the effectiveness of the organization, and workflow, then it is not something the company can reasonably implement.
Other suggested strategies included letting employees have their phones on them to allow them to set alerts and reminders for certain things, like an hourly alarm or vibration to help keep track of time.
"So yes, time blindness strategies are a thing, but coming to work on time, if you need to be there on time for the job, I am sorry, but that's just something you gotta do," she concluded.
What to Do to Avoid Being Time-Blind?
Meanwhile, diagnosed ADHDer and video creator Jessica McCabe of the YouTube channel "How to ADHD" provided a video on her top five tips on how to get out of one's door on time:
Do as much as possible in advance: McCabe explained that if preparations were done ahead of time, the brain utilizes a less-impaired "cool" executive function system, with the executive function being another struggle neurodivergence like ADHDers and autistics have a common issue with.
Know your time vision: "It's not that we're being irresponsible, it's that time looks really fuzzy to us, especially when something is far away," she added.
Build a routine: McCabe explained ADHD brains are having some trouble with "set switching" or the transition between tasks. She said having a routine would help with making transitions smoother.
Use cues to stay on track: People who have ADHD have a limited working memory compared to their neurotypical peers, which means the ability to hold information in the brain while working with it. McCabe recommends giving cues to people who may experience time blindness so they are supposed to be doing in each area of one's home or workplace.
Reward yourself for being on time: McCabe explained incentivization would help ADHD brains to become more accountable and keep up with their tasks. "The key is to find incentives that are motivating and that you can actually give yourself," she added.
