Independent Research
Temporal Processing
& Neurodivergent Cognition
My research examines how neurodivergent minds — particularly those with ADHD — experience and process time. I draw on phenomenology, cognitive science, and systems theory to build models that are both theoretically grounded and clinically useful.
Clinical Literacy Project
AI & ADHD as Cognitive Scaffolding
This project grew out of a May 2026 clinician-facing presentation on how adults with ADHD are already using AI for planning, organization, self-understanding, writing, emotional support, and decision-making.
The clinical question is not whether AI is good or bad. The better question is whether the tool returns the person to agency, action, and reality contact, or extends loops of preparation, reassurance, and elaboration without movement.
This project connects to my broader work on ADHD, time perception, executive functioning, feedback loops, and external cognitive scaffolding.
Public Preprint
Recursive Temporal Appraisal Loop (RTAL)
RTAL is a feedback-first architectural model of ADHD that reframes initiation difficulty — commonly interpreted as willpower failure or linear executive deficit — as a temporal systems problem. The model proposes that for certain cognitive architectures, internal and external feedback must be synthesized before forward action is possible.
"RTAL challenges the assumption that ADHD initiation difficulty reflects motivational deficiency. Instead, it positions the phenomenon as a pre-feedforward calibration problem occurring under conditions of temporal ambiguity."
The model introduces two key constructs: the Temporal Double Bind — incompatible imperatives operating across different timescales — and a meaningful distinction between Repetition (productive recursion that builds coherence) and Recollection (pathological rumination that disrupts it). These are shaped by cognitive-load composition and the quality of available feedback signals.
RTAL v2.0 is currently in preparation and extends the original model with revised terminology and a more explicit cascade structure linking temporal signal instability to downstream planning failures.
Theoretical Framework — In Progress
Temporal Architecture Framework (TAF)
The Temporal Architecture Framework is the overarching theoretical model of which RTAL is one component. TAF reconceptualizes temporal dysregulation in neurodivergent conditions not as a set of discrete deficits, but as a predictable, cascading failure across five interdependent stages of a cognitive architecture.
The central premise is that many neurodivergent cognitive systems operate on a Feedback-First, Synthesis-Dependent principle: integration of internal states and environmental cues must reach a threshold of coherence before forward action becomes sustainable. Forcing linear task-initiation before this synthesis is complete produces overload, fragmentation, and the cycle clinicians observe as avoidance or paralysis.
The five-stage cascade moves from instability in interoceptive and arousal systems, through degraded temporal signal fidelity and working memory saturation, to collapse of the projected future timeline — each stage amplifying the next and ultimately producing the recursive avoidance loop described in RTAL.
TAF is transdiagnostic by design, with implications for ADHD, anxiety, and trauma presentations. A preprint is in preparation. Inquiries welcome via the contact page.
Applied Clinical Framework
Five-Spoke Model of Integrated Life Functioning
The Five-Spoke Model is an applied integrative framework organizing human functioning across five interdependent domains: Executive Function, Self-Regulation, Relationships and Communication, Life Administration, and Purpose & Direction.
Rather than proposing new psychological mechanisms, the model synthesizes convergent insights across established traditions — including Adlerian life-task theory, Reality Therapy, Self-Determination Theory, DBT, and ACT — into a practical scaffold for assessment, psychoeducation, and clinical intervention planning. It is particularly relevant for neurodivergent populations, where uneven development across domains produces patterns of functional imbalance that deficit-based models tend to miss.
The Five-Spoke Model is the theoretical foundation of the structured learning resources offered through this practice. A formal write-up is in development.
Profiles & Public Writing
Find My Work Elsewhere
I write publicly on neurodivergence, temporal processing, executive functioning, and what it means to navigate a linear world with a non-linear mind.