I second Rahul's initial thoughts about this being a tricky one. Couple of thoughts and considerations:

- What is the primary ***"Why"*** behind sharing this update & what are you expecting as a potential outcome?
  1. Are you looking to request specific accommodations and what is the expectation regarding such accommodations?
  2. As a follow-up to the previous one, has the organization provided any additional support for Neurodiverse employees in the past and has the financial and logistical capacity/muscle to do so?  I don’t know the size and specifics of the organization, but if it is a startup/small organization, I’m assuming they would need to set up something to process your request (another item on their plate!)
  3. Most corporate org are for-profit and so mostly they tend to approach things w.r.t employee utilization as **Input resources spent** (Vs) **Output generated**? Above *“Could”* get risky during any cost/ work reduction events (RIF, Furloughs, etc.). Have you considered this scenario, as in the U.S, I've been noticing an unfortunate trend of folks on Maternity/Paternity leave being the first to be impacted?
  4. Understand that the ND learning is bi-directional. The onus of managing one's own ND symptoms + plus educating one's manager/leader as to how ND impacts work tasks, could be an additional overhead. Have you considered that?

A few high-level recommendations:

- To your point around *managing expectations around good & bad days*: Agreed that especially for ND folks, not all days are linear & productive.
  1. I'd suggest utilizing techniques like mindfulness, exercise, or collaborating with an ND Coach to discover tips and strategies for managing difficult work days.
  2. Gradually but consistently, recommend moving to a “Systems-based approach” for better managing some of the challenges such as:
     - Maintain a work reflection log (good days - things which helped, bad days - things which didn't work in your favor). Incorporate learnings into workday planning. Rinse-Repeat
     - Using the *Time blocking technique* to schedule a Pomodoro style 25 or 50-minute blocks to tackle a task.
     - Leverage body doubling accountability platforms such as Focusmate, Flow, etc, to help you not fall off the wagon but continue making incremental progress on rough days.
     - Incorporating windows in between work timeblocks for exercise/movement. Apps such as “Bend”, “Calm” have helpful short exercise routines
  3. Frame the support you're looking for in a different yet tactful way:
     - Request changing the location of your desk to a less noisy/distracting spot
     - Leverage Mental Health Day / Unlimited PTO (if org allows it)
     - Mindfulness/Meditation apps or Coaching reimbursement

Hope this helps!

Staff Software Engineer @ PatientPoint

Raghu Kalyan

I see the term ADHD and I want to specifically make sure that I’m on the same page !

- If the challenge is arising from an official diagnosis of ADHD, then the targeted advice or support could be different 

- If not, then there could be other causes, few of which Alex has already touched upon. The advice or support could be different 

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Anonymous

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