You love your career. You enjoy your co-workers. Yet, your Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) symptoms make it difficult to not get distracted when you are in an open office, where there is high traffic, sounds, movements, lights, all while you are juggling multiple projects all at once. You are finding it difficult to get your work completed on time and you feel guilty for taking so many breaks. You are worried your boss might notice you slip behind in your work, others will have to pick up the slack. You think about finding another job. But before you do this, have you asked for accommodations at work? Accommodations can promote productivity and allow you to effectively perform the essential functions of the job to the same extent as people without disabilities.

For years, many people have decided it is best not to disclose their disability for various personal reasons. If you have no problem getting the job done despite having AD/HD or any other disability, you may decide it is best not to go that route. However, if you do disclose your disability, you want to make sure you do not wait several months or years down the road. Additionally, if you decide to disclose, you may do it at the end of the interview or during probation time at your workplace. You can also choose to ask for accommodations and not disclose that you have AD/HD. What do we mean by that? It means, if the room is too noisy and you cannot seem to get any work completed, simply ask your boss if you can work with headphones on.

If you decide to disclose and ask for reasonable workplace accommodations, you might not be sure what accommodations you need in the first place. If that is the case, Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a great resource, so plug that into your computer and save that into your favorites. JAN is also helpful for many other situations so make sure you check their webpage out.

On their webpage, they have a section titled A to Z Lists. Click on that. They provide disabilities, impairments, and injuries. Locate the one that applies to you. For consistency sake, we are going to stick with the AD/HD example.

Under AD/HD JAN list questions to consider, key accommodations, and accommodation ideas. We are going to list just a few in each section. You will likely not need all the accommodations listed on their website and to help you or your employee narrow them down, there are questions to ask. Go through those questions first before moving forward. Take some time to answer them thoroughly.