Busting ADHD stigma: please stop making these mistakes

ADHD stigma meant that I didn't initially accept my diagnosis, until my life became so out of control that I was forced to accept ADHD was a 'real problem', by learning about it myself. Seeing statements like the below reminds me of why:

“One thing that makes ADHD a unique diagnosis, in some ways, is that there are social benefits to having the diagnosis that you don’t always see for other mental health difficulties. People are able to take an ADHD diagnosis to a school or a workplace and have reduced responsibilities because of it, or accommodation for testing, et cetera... in other words, ADHD can grant people a measure of grace for falling short of productivity expectations that would strain most human beings’ baseline capacity." - the Guardian

Let's break these mistakes down:

1) Social benefits of an ADHD diagnosis vs other mental health difficulties

To be diagnosed with ADHD, a person must have 2+ areas of their lives 'pervasively' & negatively impacted by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity for at least 6 months. A person who's diagnosed is therefore likely to be considered legally disabled given the impairment on their day-to-day life necessary to meet this criteria.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, but it's not necessarily a 'mental health difficulty', especially after it's understood and managed - it's just part of who a person is. Regardless, any health condition that causes a person to experience a substantial disadvantage in comparison to others could amount to a disability protected by the Equality Act, such as long Covid, anxiety, or depression.

It took me 4 years of 'mental health difficulties' to seek out an assessment, because I was absolutely terrified of being stamped with a label I'd never be able to get rid of. I didn't see any social benefits other than being told I could pay £300 for the rest of my life to take medication that would enable me to function at the same level as other people, like a tax on being neurodiverse.

2) People are able to take an ADHD diagnosis to a school or a workplace and have reduced responsibilities because of it

A medical diagnosis of any condition isn't legally necessary to access reasonable adjustments at work. As soon as an employer knows or could reasonably be expected to know that a person is disabled, regardless of diagnosis, they have a duty to take reasonable steps to remove, reduce, or prevent the substantial disadvantage they experience because of their impairment.

Neither do workplace accommodations necessarily mean reduced responsibilities. It's highly dependent on the individual, and the substantial disadvantage they're experiencing. For example, if they're struggling with distraction in the office, it could mean working from home, or having noise-cancelling headphones.

Many people with ADHD will struggle with the 'simple' tasks, such as timesheets, whilst excelling at the 'challenging' work that they were hired to do, with a brain that craves stimulation. They may not need or want their responsibilities 'reduced', but just require clearer frameworks to work within, such as having written instructions, or coaching to help them implement these strategies.

3) ADHD can grant people a measure of grace for falling short of productivity expectations that would strain most human beings’ baseline capacity

Every one of my ADHD coaching clients push themselves to meet productivity expectations that exceed most human beings' baseline capacity in certain areas, such as work. They push themselves to 150%, not realising that everybody else doesn't work this hard, which is why they can be prone to burning out.

They might struggle with things our society doesn't traditionally associate with 'productivity', such as self-care, exercising, or cooking meals. However there's no grace to be granted for forgetting to eat lunch, locking ourselves out of the house, or people pleasing. The only people who can grant us this grace is ourselves, which is why being diagnosed with ADHD can be so life-changing: we stop beating ourselves up.

ADHD stigma can contribute to challenges in supporting and harnessing ADHD at work by:

• individuals being too embarrassed of using it as an 'excuse', so they might avoid asking for help

• the belief that a diagnosis is necessary for adjustments to be made, which means many people may be on 7 year+ NHS waiting lists for assessments until feeling able to talk about it at work.

• individuals not understanding how their ADHD impacts them (even after diagnosis), so they don't know what they need to alleviate the substantial disadvantages they experience because of their condition at work.

• a lack of clear processes for disclosure and identifying or implementing workplace accommodations (despite the legal duty for adjustments to be made being on the employer)

• a lack of understanding of legal requirements in relation to disability, including the fact that reasonable adjustments level up the playing field for individuals

• referrals to Occupational Health (with limited knowledge of the specific workplace environment) that aren't followed up on, implemented, or discussed afterwards.

• anxiety about having an open, trusting, vulnerable conversation about disability, needs, and support, where nobody has all of the answers - and that's okay.

I set up ADHD Works to facilitate the above, because done right, an employee who has been diagnosed with ADHD has just been handed the keys to unlocking their full potential in life, which is also of huge benefit to their employer!

There are many extraordinary benefits to having ADHD, such as the ability to hyper-focus, creative thinking, and a strong sense of integrity, but it's important not to forget that at least initially, it has been diagnosed because it severely disorders a person's life. That person needs support, understanding, and trust.

Visit ADHD Works find out more, or book in an introductory call here.