Work

The usual requirements for satisfactory job placements also apply with ADHD adults. Hence aptitudes, interests and pre-requisite skills must be taken into account. In addition, the symptoms of ADHD further proscribe the range of suitable occupations. Unless this occurs, the result will be a dissatisfied employer, and/or an inefficient and unhappy employee. The following ADHD characteristics may be relevant in considering career choices.

1. ADHD adults require structure so that they know where they fit into the scheme of things. An employer who establishes clear expectations of what is required and communicates this clearly to the employee establishes a climate with which those with ADHD feel comfortable.

2. At the same time, adults with ADHD enjoy a degree of unpredictability about their work. Routine jobs which follow a predictable path may be much more aversive to them than they are to most workers. This often leads to frequent job changes.

3. Jobs requiring intense concentration may be difficult for a person who cannot maintain concentration for long. Working with dangerous machinery may be a problem if concentration has to be maintained for lengthy periods.

4. Adults with ADHD can be highly motivated in jobs that they find very interesting or exciting or which include a degree of unpredictability. For example many join the police force or the armed forces because these jobs offer a balance of predictability and variety.

5. People with ADHD often have difficulty in listening carefully to instructions. Jobs requiring such skills may be a problem. Instructions given clearly in written form are more effective than a complex series of oral instructions, especially if the essential message is "buried in a sea of words".

6. Adults with ADHD may have excellent skills in some aspects of a particular job, but be unable to satisfy the requirements of other parts of the job. For example, a salesman may be excellent in dealing with customers in the actual selling process, but may have great difficulty in completing the routine administrative tasks associated with the sale. It is often helpful if the employer capitalises on the person's skills and develops procedures to overcome other problems.

7. In order to complete tasks, especially when deadlines are involved, the adult with ADHD may find it necessary to focus intensely on the task (hyperfocus). When the person is doing this he/she will find it extremely annoying to be interrupted with other demands, particularly if those demands are considered less important than the task at hand. Given the emotional lability of many people with ADHD, this may result in an explosive outburst of anger.

8. If the adult with ADHD is subject to outbursts of anger, it will be useful to arrange for short breaks away from the source of irritation - possibly on another activity where the person can regain composure.

Copyright Dr Stephen Dossel, and the ADD Association Queensland. This article may be reprinted but should not be modified in any way. Any such use should be acknowledged in the normal manner and must include the author's name and the source of the article.