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Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

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Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#41

Post by novok »

adhd_thraway wrote: post #25
me_me_mu_mu wrote: post #24

Sorry not fully related to your question, but I've been asked a couple times in the past whether I've got ADHD because I'm constantly humming or tapping my desk while I multi task on 4 things, or when its time to work on new projects I just go 100% beast for a day or few days, getting a lot done, and then just crashing (sometimes for a whole week) because I can't focus on anything. Do I just ask a doctor to test me?…

Yes - please don't self diagnose. ADHD in adults is somewhat new and some specialist either don't know or downplay it so keep that in mind. I'd suggest getting to the ADHD Adult specialist/clinic in the area. Depending on the country it might take short or long time to get diagnosed (for myself it took around 6 weekly 1.5h meetings, tests and family interviews), but I know this might vary depending on where you live.

I think many who have 'adult' ADHD probably had a form of it as a child, but had early interventions or other mitigating factors that made them not assessed as a child. Such as being poor, or being an ADHD inattentive type, or a girl (ADHD can show up differently in girls vs boys), or an inattentive 'twice exceptional' who is also highly intelligent, so they were well behaved and did 'good enough' in school that nobody really thought to give them a neuro-psychological assessment. Or their undiagnosed ADHD parents think their ADHD kid is normal, because it's close to their behavior set and thus never really thought of it being an issue.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#42

Post by newaccount74 »

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 doesn't struggle with something.

I wonder why employers need a "Neurodiversity program" to make their workplaces less toxic.

Maybe I'm missing something, but are there any specific affordances for Neurodiverse people that wouldn't also help everyone else?

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#43

Post by jacek »

I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult in my thirties and I have been taking medication for the last two years. I am also in EU.

I would recommend two things (YMMV). First, use ADHD to your advantage. People with ADHD have tendency to be inquisitive, but easily bored. Because of this I have become a jack of all trades. Although I have my specialty (ML), employers really appreciate that I also able to do Linux administration, create a web app and write a paper.

The second thing would be going freelance. I've done that last year, and it has been a blessing so far. I learned many new skills in new industries. Meeting new people and learning from them has been a valuable experience. The projects can be short enough not to get bored there. As a solid full-stack engineer you can earn better money, and have longer breaks in between.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#44

Post by novok »

I've actually moved into management because it's very on-demand in many ways, which means I don't need as much self motivation and deep focus as an engineer. People I have to see in meetings are expecting me and the scope and diversity of stuff I work on is significantly increased. People would think it's the other way around as a manager, but it's not as much as you think. I still rely on writing a lot of things down to keep myself structured and make plans too. So far my reports and my manager are pretty happy with me as far as I can tell.

Also going into therapy and getting meds will also help you a bunch. I think that will be more effective than necessarily trying to find the right kind of company. Try looking at this guide about adderal by a psychiatrist: https://lorienpsych.com/2020/10/30/adderall/

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#46

Post by adhd_thraway »

novok wrote: post #41
adhd_thraway wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes - please don't self diagnose. ADHD in adults is somewhat new and some specialist either don't know or downplay it so keep that in mind. I'd suggest getting to the ADHD Adult specialist/clinic in the area. Depending on the country it might take short or long time to get diagnosed (for myself it took around 6 weekly 1.5h meetings, tests and family interviews), but I know this might vary depending on where you live.

I think many who have 'adult' ADHD probably had a form of it as a child, but had early interventions or other mitigating factors that made them not assessed as a child. Such as being poor, or being an ADHD inattentive type, or a girl (ADHD can show up differently in girls vs boys), or an inattentive 'twice exceptional' who is also highly intelligent, so they were well behaved and did 'good enough' in school that nobo…

I can tell you directly that ADHD adults always had an ADHD when they were children, as that's not something you develop, it's just more like a skin color or a body build. Our minds just work differently.

ADHD isn't necessarily "hyperactivity" neither, sometimes it doesn't show till later years or even ever. Thus there are forms such as ADD, and ADHD in girls/women manifest vastly differently.

It's genetics. Depending on the study ADHD is genetic condition with 70%+ (latest high figure I heard is 77%) chance of passing down the children and around 30% occurrence in the 2nd degree. It's also additive, meaning that if both parents have mild-moderate ADHD the child has chance to hit a neurology jackpot. Based on family story I can exactly tell who have it in my family and it spans quite long. So when for example someone smashes a window or falls and bruises often it's quite often "oh it's always been like this with boys in our family" which is another gate preventing proper diagnosis and management.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#47

Post by pliptvo »

I literally just off the phone to my GP trying to get a referral for an adult ADHD diagnosis.

She basically said, there's a massive backlog and underfunding of the service, and instead of her referring me to the adult ADHD and autism psychology services directly I should approach a more generic NHS Adult Mental Health service and try to get them to refer me for a diagnosis, or write a letter asking her to. Just seems like a bit of a ringmarole.

She also said that the NHS wouldn't recognise a private diagnosis as they have a financial incentive to lean towards positive diagnoses, and so the NHS wouldn't foot the bill for eg any ADHD meds that would ensue from it.

Is this the experience other people have had, especially in the UK?

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#48

Post by ojkelly »

poopooshire wrote: post #26
tjpnz wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The experience I've had on versus off my meds says different.

Quoted post unavailable.

Not really. At least not long term.

Amphetamines help correct for a lack of dopamine and norepinephrine, by helping then stay around longer in the brain.

It often likened to wearing glasses.

There’s non-stimulant medication, and multiple versions of stimulant medication that’s used because it doesn’t affect everyone quite the same way.

In neurotypical brains, or rather brains without a deficit of dopamine and norepinephrine, stimulants result in too much hanging around.

Instead of going from (to use relative numbers) -9 to -3..0 (like I often feel), a neurotypical brain goes from 0 to 10. It also has tends to have a calming effect on those with ADHD, whereas for neurotypicals it can push you heart rate to above 150.

For a number of people I know the affect is small, for me it has been profound. Imagine going from 70% packet loss inside your brain to 0-5%.

Not wired just normal. Only for the first 3 decades of my life, I didn’t know this normal existed.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#49

Post by novok »

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…

ADHD people:

- loose track of things more than the typical person

- get distracted by new things more than the average person

- have significantly higher openness to experience

- tend to forget more things

- are more impulsive

So it's basically having an extra management structure or labor that is willing to put in extra time to mitigate the issue that come up with this, and to harness the benefits of them too.

Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies

#50

Post by pliptvo »

adhd_thraway wrote: post #8
simplyinfinity wrote: post #6

I'm not diagnosed with ADHD myself, in fact today is my first day of ADHD eval by a doctor. What you write is exactly how experience work. One thing that came to mind is contract/freelance work. Go to a contracting agancy and tell them you want to work on 3-6 month contracts. I'm currently in the process of doing this. I hope few things come out of this. 1) my brain stays engaged 2) my happniess increases 3) my savin…

Without exposing myself too much that's what I'm doing right now. But while the contracting agency I work for is really great but it's also very massive and I feel very desolated, especially since my last contract was the "build me the forms" which drained the soul out of me.

Mind expanding on what you mean by 'desolated'?
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