By Eric Donell
If a company does not replenish itself with competence, creativity and innovative thinking, it risks being left behind in most industries. So how do we find people who can think outside the box, think the unthinkable or who can focus so extraordinarily that the hitherto unfound is found?
This question occupies the time of HR people worldwide. But there is a shortcut – these people are often found among people with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) like ADHD and autism.
The eternal question of whether ADHD is to be seen as a superpower comes up every now and then and the pendulum swings back and forth about what is considered okay. But what makes it a disability is the same thing that makes it a “superpower” for many persons. Of course, it is not a superpower that, for example, the mortality rate in ADHD is higher – on the other hand, the fact that there are three times as many people with ADHD starting businesses can be a superpower. Of course, it will be difficult to generalize such a broad diagnosis as for instance ADHD, it will always mean that many people do not recognize themselves. And it varies over life.[1]
Within the association Attention, a Swedish organization for ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome and language disorders, we regularly conduct surveys of how our members experience their work situation. Because we know that it is not unproblematic. It certainly isn’t for many others either, but our members are an especially vulnerable group. It is, for example, those who end up in problematic school absences that create difficulties that last their entire lives for most: 75% of those with problematic school absences are estimated to have an NDD. Of course, these are often the ones we also later find in the group of young people who neither work nor study. About 70% of our working members feel that the diagnosis is a certain or major disadvantage at work. The social environment and a messy work environment can cause it, as well as when the work tasks become too routine. Only half of the respondents felt comfortable talking about their diagnosis in the workplace, which of course contributes to the lack of support and understanding, and possible adaptations for many. 25% state that they felt bullied because of their diagnosis and 37% state that they encountered negative attitudes from the employer due to the
disability, to be compared with 20% who answer the same among the disabled in total. 19% feel that they have been dismissed because of their disability[1].
Overall, it can be concluded that there is plenty of room for improvement.
And only 37% of those with these diagnoses are in employment in Sweden, compared to 78% for the rest. This probably depends on many things, but the four things I think are most important are:
- that the applicant has a lack of insight into himself and his abilities.
- that the matching does not take sufficient account of the applicant’s individual variant of the diagnosis.
- that employers would rather take an applicant who does not come with a diagnosis that they fear will result in a worse overall effort, and;
- that the adaptations that could have made it work are not made.
We therefore need to map and motivate, match also based on diagnosis profile, both tasks and workplace, and see if there are needs of adaptations.
Because a disability only describes the limitation that a disability can entail when dealing with different situations, but this also means that we can influence the situation so that the disability never becomes an obstacle. And we can do that using different strategies. The great thing about strategies for these groups is that they help us even if we don’t have those diagnoses – that’s why it’s so easy to integrate them – in the workplace, for example – everyone is helped – but for the person with the diagnosis, they are often a prerequisite.
Two things we need to keep in mind:
- a diagnosis describes only a small part of a person – as usual the difference within a group is greater than the difference between groups.
- the second aspect is that the same thing that makes the person with NDD stand out in a way that may need to be adapted, the same thing might make the person stand out creatively or results-oriented,which can give them a very important role in companies and organizations. Typical of these diagnoses is that the talent profile is uneven – you might be bad at telling a story but in return fantastic at discovering the next generation of antibiotics. Or bad at maths but brilliant at selling a product. And this is why we sometimes hear about them as being a “superpower”.
About motivation: people with these diagnoses often have a lower degree of motivation than others – as part of the “mental junk” the diagnoses can bring poor self-esteem, poor self-image, counterproductive defense[TC1] mechanisms … It is usually very important that you are really motivated for your work. Getting motivational help from someone – a manager or colleague, for example, who pushes you, reminds you, gives you directions – can be very effective. But the help must be adapted to how much help you actually need. Because you should never get more – because that pushes back the internal motivational pressure and can lead to passivity. It is important that you feel that you yourself are involved in creating your success – because that creates additional motivation in a positive spiral.
About matching: We all have different conditions, and to choose work, and workplace, based on your difficulties and strengths – is natural. Two things we may need to consider: What does the job really mean? Does it include tasks where my version of my diagnosis becomes a hindrance? And secondly: how is the place where the work is done – is that an environment that goes well with my version of my NDD? For many the degree of variation is extremely important – a monotonous job works poorly for most with NDD, but for some it may instead serve exceptionally well. Many of us need to come to closure quickly and get feedback often, and then work with long deadlines and much self-directed work doesn’t function that well. A job where you have to do several things at the same time can also cause problems.
Then we need to identify where the obstacles occur, and make adaptations for them. What knowledge does the employer have about NDDs – and is there an openness to adaptations?
Often the employer thinks it is associated with a lot of hassle to have an employee with NDD – which they often have already have several, without knowing it.
There are some basic things that are the same no matter what business we work in.
- many persons who meet the criteria for ADHD or autism do not have a diagnosis, but are of course helped by strategies, and you can have certain difficulties that are part of the criteria without meeting a diagnosis.
- it is therefore wise as a manager or co-worker to learn a little about NDDs – then you will see that it’s not that mysterious, and you will understand more easily how to adapt a situation or a task if necessary. One area that can lead to difficulties with NDDs is the social game – the game we’re all expected to participate in, whether we know the rules or not. Here it can be good to read a little extra about how to make it easier for the person with NDD and the colleagues.
- sometimes we forget that new employees are just that – new.
- tell them about the company, what does the organization look like, who is responsible for what? Go through the job description together – what exact duties and working tasks does the person have?
- help with planning and prioritization in the beginning: What does a day look like, what does a week look like?
- in what order might it be appropriate to do the tasks?
- set goals and deadlines. Many persons want the goals divided into sub-goals so that it feels easy to manage.
- schedule regular meetings and follow up on how things are going. Maybe the person with NDD needs more support? For example with planning and prioritization?
- remind the person if she is going outside the area of responsibility – because it can be easy to get carried away with NDD once you’re up and running.
- many people with NDD are incredibly productive but may have difficulties in seeing when they are taking on too much.
- give feedback continuously and confirm often so the person know he is on the right track.
- adjust tasks, work environment and working hours – if necessary.
There are also many different types of technical and other aids that people with NDD can benefit from.
In conclusion, we can state that we cannot afford to exclude 10% of the workforce – who often come with particular useful qualities – just because we mistakenly believe that it will cost us more than we get out of it.
