The Forums › Forums › The Workplace › Who to Tell? › Have you ever asked for accommodation at work for ADHD? What happened? › Re: Have you ever asked for accommodation at work for ADHD? What happened?
Anonymous
When I was working for the state, I was a Work Adjustment Coordinator for the mentally ill. Yep! I worked in the mental health system. You would think that people in that stream would get it. I had my way of organizing my data and most of it was on computer–my own computer, for although I was promised to receive one, never did I see one. So, I brought in my own. I worked on that thing for three years, until one day, my supervisor told me I had to remove it. Turns out that the state forbids personal computers due to a risk of violation in patient confidentiality. They even wrote me up for that. That could be violated whether it’s mine or the state’s–all my information was on a disk. Plus, they claimed that no one knew that it was my personal PC. LIE–anyone who knew me, knew it was my personal PC. Anyway–got rid of it and asked if I could get one in it’s place in my office. Response was “NO”. They made a computer “accessible” on the other end of the building–didn’t work that well and it was very inconvenient for the work I had to do with my patients. So I had to go to the library. The productivity slowed down, which frustrated me to no end. So I went to EOE Department and reported it. This was done after several attempts with my supervisor and director. It didn’t do much good since ADHD isn’t technically a disability described in the Disability Act here in Maryland. Everyone else had computers in their offices except me. Although I was diagnosed at age 52, I knew I had it for years when I had my second son. I’m almost 58 now and it’s still kicking my butt when things get so overwhelming. I’m now working for an organization–still in mental health, but there’s not a problem because my supervisor has also ADHD. She understands.
Don’t get me wrong. I totally enjoyed the work with my patients in the state, but it was the idiocy of the Administration and Management that plucked my last nerve. With my work, my ADHD worked greatly for me, but under the stress, it kept me in boiling oil.
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