Newsmaker, Part 2
What if an ADDer already has a job he loves, but symptoms keep getting in the way?
Most of the time, you can find accommodations that will make the job work for you.
Once I worked with a doctor who was awful at managing her time. She was always running late for appointments, and then staying late at work, so her patients and her family were getting angry. I encouraged her to get a watch that could be set to vibrate—to remind her when to move on — and to simplify her note-taking by making liberal use of sticky notes. Soon she was able to move from one task to another without wasting time — and she was also able to take better, more comprehensive notes about her patients. These simple adjustments saved her job.
No job is perfect, and all of us have to adapt in some ways. Most of the time, if 75 percent of the job is a good fit, you’ll be able to adapt to the other 25 percent. Coaches can help ADDers explore accommodations and devise helpful occupational strategies. You can find an ADD coach at ADD.org or ADDCoachAcademy.com.
What are some of the accommodations worth looking into?
Things like getting extra clerical help and written, rather than spoken, instructions, assistance with setting up filing systems, and being allowed to tape-record meetings and conversations. If distractibility is a problem, you might request a private office, or at least a desk in a quiet area. Some ADDers are more productive when there are fewer co-workers around, so you might want to ask about flextime — or about doing some of your work from home. Of course, it always pays to break big projects into smaller tasks.
How can one decide whether to continue plugging away at a job — or to move on?
If a job simply isn’t working out for you, despite your efforts to make things better, you might ask if you can be reassigned to a different position within the company that better suits your strengths. If that’s impossible, it may well be time to move on—to a new job or even a new career.
A former client of mine had been struggling in her job as a CPA in a Big-10 accounting firm. She had been written up and was about to be fired. We discussed strategies that might help — things like asking to work part-time instead of full-time, taking a course in organization, and asking to take home what she wasn’t able to finish at the work site. She tried them all, but it became apparent that she needed to work in a more relaxed atmosphere.
She went to work at a non-profit organization that stressed wellness and relaxation for its employees. Her job tasks were the same, but the environment could not have been more different. Soft, relaxing music was played in the office and employees were encouraged to take “well” days, so they could maintain a “healthy balance” of work and leisure. She did extremely well in this new environment, and was so glad she had changed jobs.
Should employees tell their bosses that they have ADHD?
In general, I think that’s a bad idea, whether you’re looking for work or are already employed. The Americans with Disabilities Act is intended to stop employers from discriminating against workers who have disabilities. But employers sometimes make false assumptions about job candidates who have ADHD—for example, that they are less intelligent or less capable. In my opinion, it’s simply not relevant that you have ADHD—any more than it would be if you had diabetes or some other medical condition. I tell ADDers to share their diagnosis with people who can help behind the scenes—a therapist or coach, for example.
What can parents do to help ensure that their child will be able to find a good job? Stress the ABCs of good career development for someone with ADHD. “A” means reading up about various careers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site is a good place to start. “B” means speaking about a potential job with three or four people who are already doing such a job. “C” means observing the job—for an hour, a day, a week—or taking an internship or volunteer position.
The ABCs of career development are good for anyone, but they are essential for ADDers, who need multisensory data to make sure that a job will work for them.
