In the workplace, we have the usual adjustments that you would have heard of:
- Wheelchair accessibility
- Being situated on the ground floor of the office building
- Frequent breaks
- Short meetings
- Flexible hours
- Ergonomic chair
…… that sort of thing
In other words, the adjustment is concrete and measurable and can be a lot easier to enact.
However, I’ve recently watched video of a person sharing their unique adjustments when it comes to managing symptoms of ADHD.
Examples included:
- Providing full context of the task
- Being clear with communication, for example not needing to read between the lines
- Having no expectation to be on camera during a virtual meeting, as eye contact can be very distracting
- Eliminating jargon, and speaking as plainly as possible
- Repeating things a few times to be able to take it in, because of short-term memory processing challenges
- Preference of having it written down instead of it being said verbally
- The ability to work from home, as the office can be noisy and distracting
These adjustments are more onerous on colleagues to meet their needs.
Ultimately it is important to have a supportive work environment where the employee gets to dictate what they need to be set up for success…. and that looks different for everyone.
Let’s be open-minded about what adjustments can look like.
