I’ve heard people talk about asking for accommodations at work for their ADHD but I have not really heard of any examples of accommodations that have been given for this reason.
If you have accommodations at work, can you share what they are and if you feel like they have been helpful?
I have been asking for some better note keeping software at work for about 2 years now, because the M365 apps are garbage and don’t work for me. In spite of my workplace having a reasonable accommodation policy and the best of intentions, they have no process for handling requests outside the predefined standard stuff (screen readers, dyslexic-friendly fonts etc) and so the request has been stuck in limbo. I’m now on my fourth manager since it started LOL.
Since no one has given you an actual list of accommodations, here you go:
more frequent but shorter breaks
standing desk
work from home (if allowed)
noise cancelling headphones/earbuds
instructions for tasks clearly written and defined
extended deadlines / dedicated time to work on specific tasks
flexible schedule
private / quieter workspace
switching positions to another role that better suits you
It’s basically anything within reasons to help you successfully do your job. Talk to your HR about ADA accomodations.If you are diagnosed with ADHD, you have the legal right to these accomodations.
One company I was at allowed me to primarily WFH as an accommodation, with the condition that I would appear in-office as needed. Worked out pretty well.
I also struggle with "out of sight, out of mind", so having an extra monitor at my office workstation could be considered a reasonable accommodation.
Another example would be providing noise canceling headphones or a more private/secluded workspace to help you retain focus.
Keep in mind that the outcome of requesting accommodations like the above examples will largely depend on the company you work for, and the type of work you do. Some places will play ball, others might tell you to pound sand. Always worth a shot, though - imho.
I work full remote, so I can’t give you options for in office specific stuff. For myself I always have a notebook and post it notes to replace short term memory. Also, silent fidget toys help me sit though meetings.
Working from home itself helps me work because I can control the environment around me to have less distractions. Also I can get up and sit weird and fidget in my seat without fear of getting called out or judged for it.
I’m not much for siting sideways, more for putting my knees up and my feet on the seat, whitch I can luckily get away with without it showing on camera
Two small accommodations that have worked for me as a biochemist working in a lab.
One is that she needs to give deadlines for requests. She cant just say “get that to me ASAP” because does ASAP mean drop everything and do it now, stay late to finish what she needs tonight, or end of day tomorrow, etc. Or “hey I need ____” with no specified timeline, doesn’t work. She knows that my time blindness means I don’t remember how long ago she told me to do something, and I’m so busy with other shit that I easily lose track. I think it’s been two days, it’s actually been two weeks. She now gives me due dates. It’s less stressful than never knowing when she actually needs something.
Another is if I’m running an experiment then I can’t listen in to meetings like everyone else, because I get distracted and fuck up my experiment. My boss knows that if my experiment is the higher priority then I won’t attend any meetings during that time, and she’s fine with it. If it’s an important meeting I have to plan my experiment around it, or just do it another day.
I’m not sure if these qualify exactly. I didn’t have to go to HR to document my disorder and request these accommodations, I just talked to my boss as these things became problems.
The one I have most recently heard of is a font type to make things easier to read. A company called Bionic Reading has something out for this but their app is very limiting at the moment.
I have also heard that the font Open Dyslexic could be helpful.
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