Is ADHD a Disability?

It is estimated that over 1 million people in the U.K. are living with ADHD. However, out of that number, only about 1 tenth of these people are officially diagnosed with the condition. We answer the question: “Is ADHD a disability?“

While education and awareness are ADHD are both improving over time, it is still a neurodiverse condition largely misunderstood and underestimated by the general public. One aspect of living with ADHD that is particularly misunderstood is the fact that it is considered a disability in the workplace. 

In this blog, we are going to explain in more detail why ADHD is considered a disability at work. We will look at what this means for both employees living with the condition and those working with them.

Let’s begin by talking a little more about exactly what ADHD is.

What is ADHD?

ADHD is a mental health condition that stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The symptoms of the condition are split into two main categories: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. People living with ADHD generally feel restless and have trouble concentrating. The symptoms in more detail include:

Inattention

• Failing to give attention to detail
• Trouble organising tasks 
• Making mistakes and errors in work
• Being forgetful
• Being distracted
• Struggling to pay attention to verbal information
• Frequently losing items
• Struggling to do unpleasant or boring tasks

Hyperactivity/impulsivity

• Excessive talking
• Unable to sit still
• Tapping feet or hands compulsively
• Interrupting conversations and struggling with turn taking
• Feeling and/or acting restless

All of these symptoms can also be combined with secondary mental health concerns and conditions, including stress, anxiety, and depression. Many people living with ADHD find that the condition itself leads to mental health difficulties as they struggle to deal with the primary symptoms so much. 

ADHD was something that was once only considered in relation to children and the problems they might have in school. Now, more attention is given to how it is presented in adults and how it affects adults in their everyday life. A critical aspect of this, of course, is how ADHD affects adults at work. That is the topic for our next section.

How Does ADHD Affect Work?

To look at whether something can be classified as a disability or not, we have to look at how the condition or illness affects someone in critical aspects of their life. Somewhere we spend a lot of time as adults is in our workplace, so it is important to look at how disabilities impact how people acquire and maintain jobs. 

When it comes to ADHD, the condition has a profound effect on both of these areas. Adults with ADHD can struggle in the following work-related areas:

• Timekeeping
• Focus
• Memory
• Communication

Many people with ADHD struggle to maintain a routine, be punctual, and keep up to date with their work in the same way neurotypical people do. It isn’t that they don’t care or that they are lazy (common stereotypes), these factors are symptoms of the condition. 

Some people with ADHD find that their symptoms prevent them from getting a job in the first place as they struggle at the first hurdle, applications and interviews. Lots of job interview processes are much more inaccessible than they may realise and people with any range of neurodiversity often fall victim to this fact. Without inclusive recruitment practices, neurodiverse people can remain unemployed for far longer than they should be based on their skills and qualities. 

Overall, ADHD affects work in a big way. It can affect people getting a job and cause problems maintaining a job due to performance issues. This picture leads to stress and financial problems quite frequently for people living with the mental health condition. 

Is ADHD a Disability?

So, with all of this information in mind, we can move on to looking at whether or not ADHD actually is a disability and why.

In short, ADHD is a disability and it is treated as such in work. A disability is defined by the Equality Act of 2010 as a physical or mental impairment that significantly impacts your ability to do everyday tasks on a long-term basis. 

ADHD meets all of these criteria for many people. The definition of disability focuses more on how a person is impacted by their condition rather than any pre-decided judgements on certain conditions and illnesses. When we look at how people are affected on an everyday basis by ADHD, as we have in our previous sections, we can see exactly how significant the condition is and why it should qualify for this classification. 

So, what does this mean exactly? Why does it matter for the condition to be classified as a disability?

Well, for our intents and purposes, this matters because it changes what kind of support someone is entitled to in the workplace for the condition they have. For ADHD, you are entitled to more workplace support than many people think. A lot of people miss out on valid and important support due to a lack of knowledge about the topic, which is a real shame.

Support at Work

Being classified as disabled at work means you are entitled to support and protection from discrimination as laid out by the Equality Act. As “disability” is a protected characteristic, this means you are specifically protected by this piece of Equality Law legislation.

Protected characteristics are entitled to workplace support in the form of reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments are changes or modifications to your working environment that will help do your job without being disadvantaged due to your disability. This could be any range of things and depends on the specific disability that you have. For ADHD, some common reasonable adjustments include: 

• More accessible formats for forms, applications, and documents
• Longer deadlines for work and assignments
• Different equipment, such as a second monitor or ergonomic keyboard
• Changing the seating positions of an office to improve focus 
• More breaks to help with regulation
• Time off for counselling/specialist appointments
• Flexible working hours
• Working-from-home options
• Reduction of workload in stressful or unregulated periods

It is important to know that you are entitled to all of these reasonable adjustments should you disclose your diagnosis to your employer. While you may initially feel reluctant to do so, remember it is the best way to get the support and help you need at work. Also, remember that any negative reactions to such a disclosure are illegal forms of discrimination and should always be reported. 

What Next?

At Careers with Disabilities, we can help with this topic in two key ways.

For people living and working with ADHD, you can avail of our support and guidance for disabled job seekers. Check out our Disability Advice Hub and varied sections of information on workplace support. You can also take a look at our disability-friendly job board and directory of inclusive employers to find a job opportunity that will suit you and your needs.

For employers working with employees with ADHD, you can take a peek at our guidance for employers. You can check up on important topics such as funding and becoming a disability-confident employer. Then, you can also make the most of our disability-friendly job board by posting your own jobs there and meeting a wide range of diverse candidates.

For whatever way ADHD affects you at work, we have you covered.