Requesting Accommodations In Work
- These two articles from CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity) and ADDITUDE magazine are helpful in terms of thinking about how to sensitively navigate asking for accommodations at work. Note that they are both American resources and the laws will be different in Ireland.
- The Employment Equality Acts require employers to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities to meet their needs in work.
- These accommodations should support the person carry out their work on equal footing with their co-workers.
- Some examples of accommodations are:
- Providing training or other supports/technology that might (e.g. text to speech software)
- Assigning an employee certain tasks and substituting others for equivalent duties
- Allowing the employee to stand during meetings
- When sensitively requesting accommodations at work, you should make an informed decision about whether or not to tell your boss about your ADHD.
- If you do not want to say you have ADHD, you can make a general request. For example, “the noise in the office really distracts me – is it okay to wear earphones?”
- If your ADHD symptoms specifically are getting in the way of your work, you might want to disclose your diagnosis to get specific accommodations. It might be helpful to bring a short letter from your clinician to say you have ADHD. Discussing your plan and what accommodations would be beneficial with your clinician can also help you in navigating your request.