

When many people think of workplace accommodations, employees with physical disabilities who need equipment-related solutions often come to mind. For example, specialized keyboards for people with mobility issues or specific types of chairs to accommodate back pain.
However, a wide range of disabilities can be “hidden” or “invisible” to fellow co-workers. This category of disability covers a lot of conditions that could impact the way someone works. They can include conditions such as autism, ADHD, arthritis, brain injuries, mental illnesses, diabetes, epilepsy, chronic pain, dyslexia, and more.
Employees with invisible disabilities often feel the need to hide their condition to be seen as “not a problem employee”, or to avoid stigma or stereotypes. However, many of the accommodations for these types of disabilities cost less than $500—or often nothing at all— but can make a huge difference to the employee’s experience and their overall productivity.
In this article, we’ll learn more about one specific invisible disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This disorder affects an estimated 4.4 percent of U.S. adults. That means it’s very likely that there are employees with ADHD in your workplace, especially if you work for a large employer.
ADHD can have a wide range of symptoms, and some can easily be misunderstood in the workplace. An otherwise talented and skilled employee with ADHD might display some or more of the following:
It’s important to note that most people with ADHD will not struggle with everything listed above. ADHD symptoms can be mild or severe, depending on the individual.
People with ADHD have a lot to offer as employees. In fact, within the ADHD community, they refer to their unique skills as “ADHD superpowers”. Employers who recruit and retain workers with ADHD have the advantage of employing individuals with many of the following traits:
This list is by no means exhaustive. The ADHD mind can be a wonderful complement to more neurotypical thinkers on a team. By providing the right workplace accommodations for employees with ADHD, you can not only address the challenges they face, your organization benefits from the advantages they bring.
Many of the accommodations that can help employees with ADHD don’t require spending a lot of money. HR teams can use the interactive process to determine what will help each employee fulfill their job duties well. According to JAN (Job Accommodation Network), the following accommodations are often beneficial for employees with ADHD.
To address challenges with hyperactivity and impulsivity, your workplace could offer:
Accommodations that can help people with ADHD minimize distractions can include:
To help employees with ADHD manage time more effectively, you could provide:
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. The employees themselves can be a great resource for ideas of potential accommodations. The great news is that the vast majority of these accommodations cost very little, and can easily be modified and customized to each individual.
It is important to note that employees who disclose their ADHD diagnosis are protected from discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employers are legally required to provide reasonable accommodations to help them perform essential functions of their job. Beyond being compliant with the law, it also benefits your work culture and everyone’s employee experience to follow ADA best practices when accommodating employees with ADHD. Let’s take a look at a few of the most important ones.
Employees with ADHD add creativity, energy, and insight to any workplace. Even better, making sure they have the right accommodations to perform their best doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. In fact, by raising awareness of hidden and invisible disabilities like ADHD in the workplace, and making accommodations easy to request, your overall work culture will improve. You will be building an important foundation as an accepting and inclusive work culture, where everyone feels comfortable and can perform their best.
For an indepth look into how to use technology to transform the way you handle workplace accommodation, check out our free guide: “Best Practices for Modern ADA and Accommodation Management.” To see how AbsenceSoft can help you more effectively manage accommodations, schedule a demo today.