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University/College Faculty with AD/HD

University/College Faculty with AD/HD2011-05-22T17:25:03+00:00

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  • #89533

    Anonymous
    Inactive
    Post count: 14413

    I’m just finishing my Phd and am on the job market. I was diagnosed early in my doctoral program as the demand of grad school quickly out paced my ordinary (extraordinary) ability to self-compensate. What happens to AD/HD when people graduate with their Phd’s. I was the first doctoral student at my university to request and receive accommodations for my comps., and I was told by my otherwise supportive supervisor, that I should keep AD/HD to myself in the future as it could be a career killer. As I’ve done the job interview circuit, the conferences etc. I’ve never come across anyone who openly identifies as having AD/HD. The disability policies at the universities I’ve taught at are all specifically written for students, and collective agreements are vague or silent on the matter of ‘learning/cognitive’ disabilities. Is there anyone here who has experience with AD/HD from the front of the class?

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    #103663

    Wgreen
    Participant
    Post count: 445

    I am not an academic, so I have no advice to offer. But, let me congratulate you on the successful conclusion of your graduate studies. Most ADDers never would have been able to tackle all the reading necessary to pass the comps—even with special accommodation—much less finish a dissertation. Those are both remarkable achievements for anybody with ADHD.

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    #103664

    ellamama
    Member
    Post count: 58

    Congratulations! I’m a PhD/ADHD m’self; I’ve no doubt there’re many in academia who–diagnosed or not–have ADHD and/or LDs, I’m not sure that I’d walk into a classroom wearing an AD/HD t-shirt, but I think that there shouldn’t be any trouble with admitting you’re not good at, e.g., getting paperwork in on time. How this may/will impact your career depends on LOTS of different factors, in particular your area of study and the institution where you’re located. For an assortment of reasons, I’m not in a university, I work for a consulting firm. As such, I can (in theory) rely on the support of others. If you’re in a place where you’ll have to do grant writing being one of those “last minute creative thinkers” can be a tremendous asset–but only if you (or someone else) can manage to get all the forms filled in and everything done ON TIME.

    I’m not sure if this helped, but, IMHO, I promise you won’t be the only one in academia with ADHD! Good luck!

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    #103665

    Anonymous
    Inactive
    Post count: 14413

    I do not have a PhD but I can appreciate the amount of work it took to get your degree. I finished my BA and MBA 25 years ago and it took so much effort to do the amount of reading necessary. You should feel very proud of what you have accomplished.

    I think ADHD will carry less stigma as time goes on, just as depression has become more acceptable. In the business environment I don’t think much has changed with regards to attitudes towards learning disabilities

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    #103666

    Scattybird
    Participant
    Post count: 1096

    Congratulations theolog on doing your PhD – how has the job hunting gone or have you got one? I noticed your posting was a little while ago.

    Re. advice – it depends on the job I guess. If you want to stay in academia then you will probably be OK – it depends what you do as to whether you need to declare it and it depends on you. In academia you’ll probably be OK but it’s a tough world out there and if you can cope then it might be safer to keep quiet – at least in the first stages? I managed to get my PhD a LONG time ago and doing that and the post-docs after was fine. I only had one project to focus on and I could compensate for the procrastination and other stuff by just working long hours and hyperfocusing. It wasn’t easy, but at that time I thought all that stuff was just my personality. After that I got a job lecturing which is great – lots of stimulation but hard work. It’s only now that I am really starting to struggle. There’s now more responsibility with having to do teaching (fine with that) and admin (kind of fine with that if a deadline is approaching) and research. This last bit is where I’m struggling. It’s self defined and although there are deadlines they can slip and I really find it hard to juggle it all. After 20 years I am wondering whether to declare my ADD now at work because it’s obvious that I can’t compensate for the sheer volume of what’s expected anymore. So, I guess if you are in a job where you can focus on a project that’s great, but once you get higher up the scale it gets harder because expectations increase. I think if I were you I’d keep quiet until you’ve been in the job a couple of years – by then you should be on safer ground and you will want a work-life balance and not have to spend every waking hour playing catch-up. Nowadays there are laws in place to protect us but you can never account for the boss that has bullying tendencies. Tricky and I think each person and each job should be considered independently. You’re right about the help being student focused in Universities. We have an occupational health unit but I can’t see them being particularly helpful. Also, I know of one person in my University who declared her ADD but she didn’t hang around because her boss bullied her. I don’t know if it was related or not. Certainly I deal with quite a few students with ADD (which is how I came to realize I have it!) and listening to the comments from my colleagues about these students makes me think I should keep quiet about it. Complete lack of understanding so they come out with comments like ‘they are just spoilt and we all have concentration issues’ or they just need to ‘get some discipline’. If only it were that easy. So, I have probably just talked myself into keeping quiet about it!

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    #103667

    Robbo
    Member
    Post count: 929

    Thanks a bunch

    Helpful stuff you guys, I’m not a student. I’m curious and have studied a gazillion different things. Just not ass much spelling as I should. It’s very encouraging to see that some folks with add/adhd can still succeed, depending on one’s definition of success. I think there may be as many different ways to succeed as there are combinations of impairments that we humans experience. Anything close to a regular routine is a good sighn (more crreative spelling) of impending success for me. I‘ve already had a couple mini careers, I‘m discovering the next one. When my life gets sorta stable, organized and predictable. Words I doubt are ever used when folks gossip about me in my tiny little small townish neighborhood/apartment complex. It’s great! Then I can’t stand it and mess it all up cuz I get bored hehehehe… I invited a friend here, {this web site} I’ll bet she gets a good snicker out of that one. Like me, she’s not too thrilled with some of the small town characteristics in this little “pointe” on the map I live in, she sorta lives n works here both.

    I made a new folder in my ADHDers folder for “good threads to read” and saved the “best antidepressant/anxiety meds to co-exist with add/adhd meds” thread. As well as this one. Just reading and learning is helping tons, I’m also finally winding down from the final decrease in the Wellbutrin. I stretched it out over about 6 months, and more quickly from 2 150 mg tabs wellutrin to just 1 over the last 6 weeks. I’m having some grief about having strong tendencies toward adHd, not bad depression though. I think because I have a large kit of mental, spiritual, physical (what I eat especially) tools to use. Medication is a pain in da ace. But I’d rather be a lit bit grunpy cuz I have to take pills than very freakin angry cuz I’m in a straightjacket! hehe. Sorry I realize that’s not actually funny. I haven’t had to go even close to that place fortunately. I’m sure glad I did read this post after I clicked send. Sheesh, almost forgot to edit/proofread, I wasn’t makin sense, I hope not too many people read the first draft of this one :0)

    Ack! I’m starting to ramble… woops zzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Grrr, had to click edit twice, I’m calling it good enough now.

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    #103668

    Scattybird
    Participant
    Post count: 1096

    Hey Robbo – I know EXACTLY what you mean about small town gossip. The folk that live on my road think I am crazy but it gives them something to talk about. I get to the point where I quite like to drop something into conversation that I know will set them buzzing. It’s great for weekend amusement. When you get your life organised please tell me how you did it. Mine is anything but. Yeah I can put on an act, but I can’t let anyone into my house or they’d call the cops or environmental health! Keep off the depression…that’s not good. Better to take the meds than that.

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    #103669

    kristya
    Member
    Post count: 8

    I’m getting my master’s and found out my second year when my ability to compensate wasn’t enough anymore. I desperately needed help and didn’t know what was wrong until I randomly found a questionnaire about ADHD. Someone asked me if I had ADHD earlier but I said no and had been tested as a child. Apparently, I was just taken to a doctor who didn’t really know about ADHD and at that time women were thought to mostly not have it. My tutor, a special ed person, in the 1st grade thought I did, but only a mild case. I was jumpy and fidgety but not like the boys of my age with ADHD.

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