ADHD And Disability Accomodation

As some of my readers may know, I worked briefly as an employment specialist for a non-profit company working with people with mental illness. One of my responsibilities was to work with employers on negotiating "reasonable accommodation" (as per the Americans With Disabilities Act) when it came to mental health disabilities.

I was no expert and frankly, was pretty well out of my league at the job, so I can't claim to have perfect advice in this area. But I still think it's a useful discussion to have and one I don't see many people with ADHD having.

What, exactly, are "reasonable" accommodations for people with ADHD on the job site?



Well, we can start with the legal definition, which is to say, any accommodation that does not interfere with the essential functions of the job. To determine "essential function," ask the question, "What are you there to do that can't be done without you?" An accommodation is something that allows you to do your job, or helps you to do it well, not something that does the job for you. As far as "reasonable," goes...well, that's in the eye of the beholder, but I would say an accommodation is reasonable if it a) doesn't cost the employer more money than your employment's worth and b) doesn't disrupt someone else's ability to perform their essential job functions.

A useful tidbit that a lot of people don't know about seeking disability accommodation: you don't have to disclose WHAT your disability is in order to seek accommodation. Once your disability is documented, your doctor or therapist only needs to provide a notice stating that you have a disability. They can also back you up about the medical necessity of the accommodations you seek without disclosing your diagnosis.

Another important fact: ADA disability accommodations are required in schools and colleges as well as in the workplace. I took advantage of a few accommodations when I was in college, including tape recording lectures, taking my tests with extra time and in a quiet room, alone, getting a tutor for some classes, and having someone else take notes for me. Without these, I doubt I could have made it through some of the more challenging classes.

Many people with ADD never realize that they are entitled to fair treatment. We're so used to internalizing the symptoms of our neurological condition as some kind of moral or intellectual weakness that it never occurs to us to ask for a leg-up that would, in reality, only put us on an equal playing field.

Unfortunately, many ADD symptoms do interfere with certain essential job functions. When this is the case, all you can do is try to work hard to manage your symptoms well enough to get along in a job, or start thinking about applying for full or partial disability benefits.

However, there are many ways you can make your workplace more friendly to your brain. Here are some of my favorites:

- Receiving written instructions, rather than verbal ones, so that you can re-read them for anything you might miss the first time.

- Being trained for a job or new task by doing the task yourself, under guidance, rather than being expected to learn by watching someone else do it.

- Having permission to doodle/play with Silly Putty/enjoy a mild diversion during long meetings in order to engage the hyperactivity and keep your mind focused.

- Getting a work space or station relatively free of visual and auditory distractions, where possible. If you work in a noisy area, but the sounds aren't something you have to monitor as part of your job, this may mean being able to wear earplugs.

- Honest positive reinforcement. By this, I don't mean that employers shouldn't correct improper behavior or rain down extra compliments on an ADD employee. Rather, this would be a compensation for the ADD brain's natural tendency to make us second-guess everything and always suspect we aren't cutting it compared to others. This generates a lot of unnecessary anxiety and avoidance that will exacerbate our ADD symptoms. Simply being told things like, "You're doing that the way I want you to," or "You're picking this new stuff up as quickly as we expect you to," whenever possible works wonders in this regard. Likewise, if being corrected for a mistake, it's helpful to be told something like, "that's a common error."

- Variety in the workday routine, whenever possible. Would it be possible to work on five projects for a couple hours every day, rather than a different project every day for a week? Can you sit for part of your workday and stand for another part? Can you take on other office projects, like cleaning the supply cabinet, in order to break up your day? Can you stock merchandise for part of the day and leave the cash register? Can you take a laptop and work outside for a while? Little variations like these will help you keep your focus up.

- An endless supply of Post-It notes.