September 19, 2010

Adults with ADHD must learn coping skills to keep the focus on work

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By Anita Bruzzese
The Associated Press

Daryl Wizelman was diagnosed at age 6 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD, when he couldn’t concentrate in class and teachers considered him hyperactive.

His pediatrician put him on medication, which he says was a “real life-changer.”

Fast-forward a couple of decades: Wizelman starts his own company, but employees say he doesn’t seem to listen to them, rushing through meetings and showing little interest in their ideas. Again, his ADHD has come into play, and he struggles to find ways to take a childhood disorder and make it fit into a working world.

More years pass. Wizelman, a speaker and author from Calabasas, Calif., now says that despite continued symptoms of ADHD, he has learned to be more aware of the appropriate way to behave and do his work.

Mental-health professionals estimate that 9 million adults in the United States have ADHD. Symptoms of ADHD and attention deficit disorder, also known as inattentive ADHD, include difficulty paying attention, easy distraction, trouble finishing paperwork, fidgeting, talking too much and procrastination.

All of these issues can cause workers with the disorder a lot of problems at work — and possibly even get them fired.

Michele Novotni, a psychologist and coach who specializes in workers with ADHD, says it often is undiagnosed in adults because it’s viewed as a childhood disorder. She says adults in the workplace with ADHD often may not stop to think before they say or do something. They may commit social faux pas and hurt people’s feelings.

While many adult ADHD sufferers use medication to help them control their symptoms, learning to cope in the workplace often also takes coaching, Novotni says: “Pills aren’t skills.”

Novotni and other experts offer some coping skills for workers with ADHD:

Get an assistant. “Workplaces have cut out secretaries and assistants, and that’s been deadly for those with ADHD,” Novotni says. “Those people provided them with needed structure. I suggest people [with ADHD] get someone to help them,” even if it’s a college student or a virtual assistant.

Understand priorities. Check with your boss to make sure you understand which tasks should be done first. Novotni suggests two white boards: one that serves as a “parking lot” for thoughts and ideas, and a smaller one with three priority items. Until the high-priority tasks are done, you can’t move on to other ideas or projects, she says.

Be honest. Wizelman suggests that you let others know about your ADHD if you’re a boss. “Being transparent and vulnerable is important,” he says. “It draws people in, they get a greater understanding of you and you become a relatable leader.”

Eliminate distractions. Try to sit near the speaker in a meeting or presentation so it’s easier to stay focused, and take notes to keep you on track. Getting an agenda beforehand can make it easier to follow along.

Find appropriate ways to fidget. Taking a walk on a break or exercising at a gym during lunch can help you relieve restlessness that you must contain during other parts of your workday.

Novotni says employers should provide training on ADHD, both for those who suffer from the disorder and for those who work with them.

“These people are often great employees,” she says. “They have so many ideas, so many things going on in their heads.”

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1 Comments

Betty on September 24, 2010 2:27 AM | Reply

I have ADHD and even in a state job as a tenured professor with accommodations, I found that the punitive discipline for saying or doing something that was a social faux pas with no intent to hurt anyone's feelings, as well as transparency and honesty, resulted in being discriminated against and harassed. It also resulted in being so upset all the time that I ended up with cancer while they were trying to fire me. I was physically and verbally assaulted by two professors on the same day I learned of my cancer diagnosis.

I was told that my employer didn't have the time or patience to deal with the extra consideration of a disabled employee. The university I worked for silently allowed the harassment and discrimination to go on for years. My most immediate supervisor treated the harassment and discrimination as a game to wear me down. A game she found quite amusing, always looking for new thing to hurt and upset me, so that I was always off balance.

I do not believe that ADHD is tolerated in the workplace, it s a big myth for window dressing. I called EEOC, AAUP the union (FTA AND WTA)and every other watchdog group in the US asking for help and each and every one of them found a reason to not help. After I finally figured out that there was no one to help me, I stopped asking.I found out the hard way what a complete joke the ADA laws are and finally had to resign from my position because my medical team felt that I was at such a high risk for a return of cancer in such at hostile work place.

Your comments are helpful for someone who still has hope, but it is pie in the sky for those of us who have already done the suggestions you've made and still found themselves left out, left behind and marginalized.

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