Reflections from Joan van den Brink’s new book
Language, deficit framing, and what Wired Differently made me rethink
Reading Wired Differently by Joan van den Brink set me thinking — not just about neurodiversity, but about the language we use to describe it, and what that language quietly implies.
Rethinking the language we use around neurodiversity
One phrase in particular has been sitting with me: ‘time blindness’ (Read more https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/time-blindness). It’s a term I suspect will become obsolete before long — and, I hope, replaced with something more accurate and inclusive.
Time blindness is often associated with ADHD, as many children and adults with ADHD struggle to manage their time and may feel that their internal “clock” is faulty. However, it is possible to feel like one is “time blind” without experiencing other symptoms of ADHD, and there are other conditions that can lead to impaired time perception, including autism, depression, and neurological impairment due to traumatic or nontraumatic brain injury.
But it can also be something that affects people who are deep working in their strengths zone: “lost searching for papers (Input)”, Designing and building project plans and setting goals (Achiever, Arranger, Focus) or the joy of connecting and meeting new people (Woo).
Is “time blindness” really a lack of awareness?
In a recent workshop, while still pondering the term, I asked whether anyone had heard alternatives. What emerged was fascinating.
One participant said: what’s often described as time blindness isn’t an absence of awareness at all. Some brains take fewer sampling points as they move through the day. Time itself is experienced differently.
Seen through that lens, the term time blindness becomes a neurotypical deficit frame — a way of describing difference as lack, rather than variation. Our inner clocks are set differently.
Alternative Ways of Describing Different Time Perception
There are already alternative phrases in circulation: time agnosia, temporal agnosia, chronological unawareness, temporal disconnection, and Dr Russell Barkley’s ‘temporal myopia’.
Why “Temporal Myopia” Feels More Accurate — and Kinder
Temporal myopia particularly resonates with me, as a spectacle wearer. Most of us understand short‑sightedness. We don’t moralise it. We accept that vision can be supported or adjusted. The metaphor feels both kinder and more accurate.
I can now happily diagnose myself with temporal myopia — which may explain why, when I studied geology, I struggled deeply with stratigraphy essays. Geological time is vast and abstract. My brain wanted now, next, or not yet.
What Wired Differently gets right about neurodivergent experience
All of this reflection was sparked by Wired Differently, a book that is accessible, clear, and deeply personable. Joan van den Brink uses a cast of characters to illustrate neurodivergent experiences in different situations, cutting through jargon with skill.
Frameworks and models are woven elegantly into the text without burdening the reader — no small feat when many neurodivergent readers are naturally curious and easily distracted by interesting ideas. I also appreciated that the characters weren’t labelled. People are never just one thing.
Structure, trust, and practical insight
The book’s three‑part structure introduces the characters gradually and extends the cast later, helping the reader stay oriented. The final section, drawing on learning from “Olivia’s workshops”, is especially useful for academic and organisational audiences.
Olivia is listed as a coach and an equality, diversity, and inclusion consultant.
The time it takes to build trust is beautifully illustrated.
Why language matters more than we think
This book is a useful reference, with great tips, and ideas to help you navigate your life and workplace to build a more inclusive space.
Language matters. And books like this help us describe difference without defaulting to deficit — which can only be a good thing. So for all neurotypicals, buy a copy!
I’ll be recommending Wired Differently to the engineering educators and neurodiversity specialist group of the Engineering Professors Council for their review too!
— Dr Jan Peters MBE
Coach and consultant helping teams value the contributions of all
If this reflection resonated…
You may find it helpful to explore these ideas further — both in conversation and in practice.
Continue the conversation: Exploring the Katalytik systems approach to wellbeing 101
Many of the themes in this article — language, difference, trust, and how people experience work — are explored more deeply in all of our workshops and webinars.
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