Well, I wish I had some advice or suggestions for you, but best I can do is sympathize and wonder -- why is one-size-fits-all NOT acceptable when educating children, who had ADHD, but it IS acceptable in the workplace?

With any luck at all, the experiment will fail miserably (not due to any fault of yours), and they'll stop it -- and then realize how productive you are on your own.

Good luck Cara

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Funny, I have a similar job in some ways. Luckily, there are only a couple of us and so much work that the boss doesn't generally want us to double up on anything. My issue is that the other person is fine at his (non-programming) side of the job, but <<wants>> to pair program on the new in-house applications. Meanwhile, he hasn't taken any training in the language we use for those, and doesn't want to think about the structure/design ahead of time - just jump in and "code, man". So I end up having to bail him out, then figure out what muck is in there and try to help with that without wasting too much more time.

The result is that he doesn't have to learn anything new or change his ways, and I never get a chance to collaborate on a quality build, just keep putting out fires with poorly-designed junk. He has seniority and doesn't want to change, why should he?

Whoever sold this pair programming to your boss didn't explain it fully, or your boss didn't really catch the pros and cons. (yeah, I know, imagine that, eh?...)

From where I sit, pair programming is a total waste of money unless there is some common ground - either 1. the other person has to already be a great developer in a different programming language, and just needs tips on the differences, or 2. the pair needs to be a mentor-trainee situation, with the trainee at least familiar with the language being used and sincerely interested in quality development, or 3. they both have to be similar skill level, so they can truly bring out each other's strengths (presumably how this idea was originally meant to work). Otherwise, like you say, the developer can't develop, the other person is pretty much dead weight PLUS the situation is irritating the heck out of an otherwise productive developer.

You could try to get your boss to see how cost-effective it would be for your less-than-stellar colleagues to all be on the same page, with more training on current languages or with better skills in the languages required for your existing applications. The manager will get a lot more bang for the buck, quicker, and if the pair-programming idea still goes ahead after that, at least you'll have more chance to get something out of it.

Hope it turns out for you. If it goes ahead on Monday, "fidgets" might be an interim option for you. You can make your own, just google "fidgets for adhd" to see what kind of stuff students use to help focus in the classroom. If this isn't an option, please disregard. Or a string of garlic around your neck, maybe...

kc

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