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Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

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Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#111

Post by annie_muss »

jstrodd wrote: post #96
pdrbrtt wrote: post #78

Hello There! Former ADHD bro here. I was diagnosed with ADHD 10 months ago. At that time my life was a BIG BLOB of MESS and CHAOS. I started attending therapy sessions with a really good Therapist once a week since then. After 6 months, I had sense of every way ADHD was affecting my life, but couldn't figure out how to overcome the symptoms by myself. My therapist recommended a psychiatrist, which prescribed Vyvanse…

Reading your comment makes me so nervous. I could have written it myself when I was in college. Back then, ADHD meds transformed my life for the better, at least during the first couple years. It was great! A pill solved all of my problems. But then, very slowly, over the course of years, I developed a much worse set of problems. Now, ten years later, I'm struggling with an addiction that affects every aspect of my l…

Can you go into more detail about what withdrawal is like for you? I've been taking methylphenidate for ADHD recently and I want to know what to look out for.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#112

Post by adhd_thraway »

gyulai wrote: post #63
gyulai wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't agree more. I don't see it as a reflection of my own mental state or mental health at all, just as a reflection of the fact that it's time to start looking for a new job. I think that it is quite common for software engineers to have a feeling of being badly attuned to their work environments and then misattribute that as a problem that lies within themselves rather than their work environments. I even feel…

BTW: adhd_thraway Can you provide an e-mail or other way to reach out 1:1? There might be an opportunity for a collaboration here.

Sure, it's anonymized though, cause I'd rather this thread to drown slightly so it's harder to link to (yeah, I can reply btw. from same address):

koncha_slizga_0b (at) icloud.com

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#113

Post by seba_dos1 »

vkk8 wrote: post #62
krono wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD brains are physically incapable of doing these things without assistance on a neurological/biochemical level. It's not much different to elevators being pretty convenient for everyone, but an absolute necessity to the wheelchair-bound. Edit: better fitting analogy.

ADHD isn't a discrete trait, it simply means that "you are in the lower x percentile of the population in the ability to concentrate". Even people whose concentration skills are close to the mean of the population can feel like they "have ADHD" and be diagnosed with one if they eg. work a job that requires more than average amounts of concentration which they don't have. For a good layman's discussion on this, see: h…

What if I told you that ADHD actually makes it likely for you to concentrate much more on something that engages you than a typical person, to the point that you almost forget about eating, sleeping or going to the toilet? Having a tendency to hyperfocus is a pretty common ADHD trait.

It's really not that simple. Squishing it all down to "ability to concentrate" isn't just an oversimplification; it misses the point entirely. Having difficulties with concentration on non-engaging tasks is just one of the possible symptoms.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#114

Post by thebigspacefuck »

pdrbrtt wrote: post #78

Hello There! Former ADHD bro here. I was diagnosed with ADHD 10 months ago. At that time my life was a BIG BLOB of MESS and CHAOS. I started attending therapy sessions with a really good Therapist once a week since then. After 6 months, I had sense of every way ADHD was affecting my life, but couldn't figure out how to overcome the symptoms by myself. My therapist recommended a psychiatrist, which prescribed Vyvanse…

Is your vyvanse like $300 a month? I was taking it and it helped with a lot of things but I stopped because it was so expensive. Therapy was expensive too

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#115

Post by halkony »

thebigspacefuck wrote: post #114
pdrbrtt wrote: post #78

Hello There! Former ADHD bro here. I was diagnosed with ADHD 10 months ago. At that time my life was a BIG BLOB of MESS and CHAOS. I started attending therapy sessions with a really good Therapist once a week since then. After 6 months, I had sense of every way ADHD was affecting my life, but couldn't figure out how to overcome the symptoms by myself. My therapist recommended a psychiatrist, which prescribed Vyvanse…

Is your vyvanse like $300 a month? I was taking it and it helped with a lot of things but I stopped because it was so expensive. Therapy was expensive too

There's no generic alternative for Vyvanse, so w/o insurance it's going to be costly.

I have ADHD. I've tried both Adderall and Vyvanse, and IMO Vyvanse is the much cleaner feeling drug. Kinda glad the price point kept me out of it because it compelled me to find strategies that dont involve meds.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#116

Post by halkony »

pdrbrtt wrote: post #78

Hello There! Former ADHD bro here. I was diagnosed with ADHD 10 months ago. At that time my life was a BIG BLOB of MESS and CHAOS. I started attending therapy sessions with a really good Therapist once a week since then. After 6 months, I had sense of every way ADHD was affecting my life, but couldn't figure out how to overcome the symptoms by myself. My therapist recommended a psychiatrist, which prescribed Vyvanse…

I got an ADHD diagnosis at 25. Didn't really surprise me, but I went to see a physician with the intent purpose of getting meds to help me. I told the truth and was able to get a Vyvanse script pretty easily.

Interestingly, I didn't take the meds for very long, despite their more addictive qualities. About a year later, I had an emotional epiphany at a friend's wedding that cured the leftovers of my depression. It really rocked me to my core. Now my body experiences the world in a way I didn't know was possible.

I read in passing somewhere that ~35% of ADHD patients that take Adderall report therapeutic effects (like I had), but I don't recall the source. If anyone knew more about that I'd be interested to hear it.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#117

Post by lolinder »

newaccount74 wrote: post #42

I wonder why ADHD gets singled out so much. If I look at the suggestions that would help people with ADHD, then I see suggestions that would help lots of people. Eg. not being reprimanded for being late when it has no consequences would help everyone. Good calendar software also helps everyone. There are lots of people who are struggling with the demands of the workplace -- in fact, I'm not sure I know anyone who doe…

> If I look at the suggestions that would help people with ADHD, then I see suggestions that would help lots of people.

This is why we always emphasize that accessibility is for everyone, not just people with disabilities. The primary difference is that those with formal disabilities spend a much greater percentage of their time hurt by inaccessibility.

The modern workplace isn't very human-friendly, but neurotypical people can and do work around the problems, so businesses don't adjust. Focusing on ADHD gives businesses a concrete example of people they'd like to retain who truly can't be productive in the current environment, so it's more likely to trigger actual change.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#118

Post by disiplus »

resonious wrote: post #82
carlmr wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding freelancing, how do you deal with the multitasking related to getting the next project while working on the current project? Did you outsource this? The organizational work, the back and forth, the scheduling of interviews, etc. It seems like something that's very difficult to do with AD(H)D.

I'm not a freelancer but do have the ADHD ("inattentive type") diagnosis. Personally I thrive in multitasking situations. My mind is always wondering, so situations that have many productive "wander targets" help me from going off and doing irrelevant stuff.

I also have ADHD the problem is that you start too many things. And the old ones are not attractive as the new ones. Sure i will debug your issue that nobody else can do because i enjoy that, but you want me to change the field in that crud i will find a way to screw it because it's boring. I hate the ADHD thing, and hate that some think it's some sort of superpower. The thing i hate the most as a parent is the forgetting and not being able to enjoy the time with the kids because i get easily bored and there is allways some other ting on my mind.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#119

Post by gkop »

dijit wrote: post #61

I'm not sure if we fit your description but our "core hours" are 10-16, which is a bit different from other companies in the industry: and there's a lot more focus on getting tasks done vs being in the office with your arse in the seat (though how much of that is COVID? unsure, but the company culture is affected a lot by how we worked during the pandemic as this is when most people got onboarded- we more than quadru…

Aside, every Bay Area software team I’ve been on has core hours beginning at 10am.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#120

Post by hatware »

michealr wrote: post #101

Like others I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, 31, 10 months ago and I have been taking medication since then. I am also in EU. Nothing major to add, since there are some good comments from other commentators. Retrospectively I have realised ADHD has been perhaps an advantage in some areas. But additionally an absolute self sabatoge generating machine for the seemingly simplest of things. Currently near the end m…

Can you share what it was like to start medication?
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