Just Diagnosed ADD | ADHD Information

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 forbids discrimination against people with disabilities....so, if it seems as though your boss is firing you based on discriminatory circumstances, he is going against these Acts....I would suggest looking into them to find out which rights/accommodations you can receive in the workplace.

Best of luck to ya!

I saw an ad on television and went to talk to my doctor. He diagnosed me with Adult ADD.

I read more about it and was so shocked I was almost choked up. I just read the story of my life.

I'm 40, well educated, with some outstanding personality traits, but I've never been successful at work, making moves every 2-3 years. Most of my problems have always been about organization, focus, follow up, procrastination etc. etc.

I just got a poor review at work and I want to tell them that I just had my eyes opened about what may be the problem.

How do I keep my job and tell my boss about this? I'm afraid it will just cause him to accelerate the process of trying to document my failings and get rid of me.

I want to be effective, but I have a job that is almost the worst job an ADD person could have. I am a financial relationship manager.

Can I tell my boss? Can I get some kind of Americans with Disabilities waiver to at least get a chance to treat the problem? I don't want to go through the same 2-3 yr job change cycle. I can't take it anymore.

 

I completly empathize with your plight. I work in the financial services industry and have similar concerns about informing my company of my condition. I am working with a mentor and confidant within my firm to improve my work performance. Make sure to tell your boss and co-workers that you have Adult ADD! It's not an excuse, and never ever use it as one, however, it is an explanation to why you (or your spouse) do certain things that cause problems at work. If they are a good boss then they will listen and support you, even if they don't understand. It is then up ti the person with ADD to take the steps to improve their work. Once you realize that you are not an idiot, the self esteem rises and when you can't focus you now know why and you can also try things to help you stay focused. You no longer drop into depression when you can't get things done without a mental struggle. You are aware of what is going on and you work to overcome those issues.

My work story:

In July of 2004, work seemed to get more and more affected by what I thought was my stupid and inability to do things the way they should be done. I thought everyone's brain functioned like mine, however, I just was to stupid to control it. The low self-esteem that goes hand in hand with the characteristics of AdultADD will do that to you. Thankfully, my friend, who was also my superior, is a caring person and doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to problems in the workplace. I told my friend about my problems and when he told his wife about how things were going at work for me, she realized that I had a lot of the characteristics that she learned about when she was diagnosed with Adult ADD. She directed me to some websites that had questionares and surveys and my scores were off the charts. One survey read that scores above 25 were "severe chance of having Adult ADD"...I scored a 36. The other test was much greater in length and my friend with ADD said that the vast majority of those questions on the questionare were also questions asked during her first screening with her Psychologist. I gave the test to three friends and their scores ranged from 45 to the upper 60s. I scored a 234. This is when I began lengthy research on WebMD and other reliable websites to find out more about Adult ADD. I spent nearly ten hours one evening reading everything I could find and my life, present and past began to make sense.

It was hard but I went to my manager and superior to tell them what I had discovered and how the majority of my work issues might be caused by the possibility that I might have Adult ADD. I then read Driven to Distraction, a great book about ADD and what I call "my unauthorized biography" :)
I followed the steps and suggestions in the book and forced myself into a whole new way of running my life. It was very tough forcing myself to keep a daily to-do list, timesheet, meetings  and project notebook. In addition, I have a Palm Pilot and digital voice recorder since it is so easy for me to forget things if I don't write them down immediately. It was "un-natural" to me, however, people immediately took notice of how I had changed, I felt great that I now knew I wasn't an idiot, lazy or forgetful on purpose, I just seemed that way to others. In September of 2004, my physician told me that she that the probability of myself having Adult ADD was very high according to her evaluation and that I should visit a Psychiatrist for further evaluation. It has been six months and now I have finally taken that step. I have done everything I can to fix the organization problems, however, the "foggy head" and inability to concentrate are still there and these factors have effected my work at times. It is more frustrating then you can imagine, however, I have tried my hardest to stay focused...I even have a 5" x 2" sticker on my computer monitor that reads FOCUS in big black letters to remind me. I know the Psychiarist will be able to help me with all those problems that I can't fix myself.

Adult ADD has attributed to a very checkered past of inconsistant highs and lows at work. I am not proud of that, however, I now know why they exist.
shock38452.4121875Go to the library and get all the books you can on Adult ADD. I just picked up a book about Adult ADD and the workplace and how you can make ADD work for you. Also, Driven to Distraction is a great book to read.

I am actually thinking about making copies of certain sections of those books and giving them to my boss and co-workers. I figured that since most of them don't understand Adult ADD that this might be a good way for them to learn about what we are going through.

This Tuesday I finally am going to a Psychiatrist and my friend (who has Adult ADD) said that your world will change once you start going to see a Psychiatrist. Not only can they give you medicine to help but they also are there to talk to you about issues that no one else will understand.

Keep us posted on how things go at work!

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the posts.

Finding out about this so recently, and the fact that it so deeply affects so many aspects of life, its been like a tidle wave of feelings and emotions. Relief, sorrow, anger,

Its almost like finding out as an adult that you were adopted or something.

Its like finding out that you've been dyslexic for 40 years and never even knew it.

I'm just hoping I can hang on to my job long enough to find a new one with out getting fired. Its so much harder to get a good job/salary when you are unemployed and have to explain job changes every 2-3 years.

I asked my boss to give me a chance to treat this before he makes any decisions regarding my actual ability. He was supportive in his talk, but he kept saying "time is of the essence" which means I think he's papering my file to cover his ass.