Neurodivergent workers unsure whether to disclose diagnosis to employers
14 posts across 10 communities in the last 60 days; 21% from r/careerguidance.
“Hi all. I'm 25F, have diagnosed Autism, ADHD, and OCD, as well as some sort of learning disability. The gist is that my verbal/linguistic, analytical, and emotional skills are well above average, but my arithmetic and visual spatial skills are either average, or downright…”
“Is being an Occupational Therapist the right job for someone neurodivergent and easily overwhelmed? I work at a Call Centre at a bank - and I absolutely hate it. I hate the pressure, I hate the lack of autonomy, and I loathe the fact I am micromanaged with someone always…”
“Has anyone else experienced something like this? How did you cope with these circumstances or how do you find ways to engage in the field while having your own disabilities? I recently had to resign from my position as a case manager, that I loved dearly, because the agency…”
Multiple posts discuss the challenges faced by medical professionals, including neurodivergent nurses and those experiencing burnout or considering career changes. There's a recurring theme of difficulty navigating workplace environments and seeking support.
SOURCES (26)
“I’m curious as to how common of a situation this is, as I have diagnosed severe ADHD. I’m currently 24 and for context I started working at around 17 so over that 7 year period I kid you not I’ve had roughly AT LEAST 14…”
“Hi all. I'm 25F, have diagnosed Autism, ADHD, and OCD, as well as some sort of learning disability. The gist is that my verbal/linguistic, analytical, and emotional skills are well above average, but my arithmetic and visual spatial skills are either average, or downright borderline- and I essentially can't multi-task. This may not necessarily be NVLD, but it's very similar. I attempted to entire the animation field about a decade ago, and struggled. I'm now looking to return to”
“Is being an Occupational Therapist the right job for someone neurodivergent and easily overwhelmed? I work at a Call Centre at a bank - and I absolutely hate it. I hate the pressure, I hate the lack of autonomy, and I loathe the fact I am micromanaged with someone always watching. However, I have inattentive ADHD and I do struggle with fast paced work admittedly. I have an Hons Degree in Psychology and Counselling but it’s not getting me anywhere job wise to be honest, and I feel the only way I’”
“Has anyone else experienced something like this? How did you cope with these circumstances or how do you find ways to engage in the field while having your own disabilities? I recently had to resign from my position as a case manager, that I loved dearly, because the agency denied my ADA claim and could not accommodate my needs. (I'm post due to agency failures - failing to fill vacant positions putting unreasonable workload on me.) I was experiencing severe autistic burnout (was just diagno”
“Hi all, I’m a new grad (started in Feb) working in New Zealand. It’s been going okay but I have a high level of anxiety and negative self talk. Adding into that, I’m also Autistic, ADHD, and deal with chronic migraine. My job is mostly good. I’m at a small corporate clinic with a bigger sister clinic ~20-30 mins away. There are some weird dynamics between clinics but I don’t understand a lot of it. I really like the nurses and my mentor who works at my clinic. I’ve been put on sole charge more t”
“TW, this is an AI generated prompt/question that I talked it through to be cohesive with as much needed information etc. I’m in my early 30s and considering a career change. I’m hoping to get some advice from people who have either made a similar transition or have found careers that work particularly well with a neurodivergent brain. I’m also a parent to a toddler, which is becoming an increasingly important factor in figuring out what kind of career I want long-term. My child is starting Early”
“I (27m) want to be a nurse, but I’m afraid my disabilities will get in the way. I have a genetic disability similar to cerebral palsy that means I can’t be on my feet for long periods of time. I’m also hard of hearing, and while I wear hearing aids, I still have difficulty in noisy environments. While I know that there are nursing jobs that might be better for these disabilities, I worry that they are few and far between and too competitive to get as a new nurse. I also worry that I wouldn’t mak”
“So, I used to be in an abusive academic environment where I used to get often mistreated. I'm Neurodivergent and my old PhD school was prestigious but it failed to provide suitable accommodations, and professors, refusing to understand the ramifications and difficulties I endured, kept pushing insane workloads and scolding me repeatedly, interpreting any kind of difficulties as laziness. I even went back to university many times the day after I exited a psych ward. Eventually my old PhD coll”
“I'm in the UK where neurodiversity is a protected characteristic but I have never disclosed on my grant applications that I have ADHD. I was always fearful people would consider me to be a higher risk applicant. What are your thoughts on this? I have seen undergraduate students disclose and benefitting them (mostly people empathising with the struggle or before it can benefit the institution to have diversity - race, neurodiversity, gender etc) , but never seen it at this level. Any thoughts”
“It wasn’t in response to criticism or a performance issue; I’ve never criticized them. They mentioned it in conversation. I’m genuinely unsure how what I'm supposed to do with that information, if at all. Was it personal context they felt comfortable sharing, and if so is there some expectation that I should keep it in mind when giving feedback? I don’t want to overreact based on something they may simply have mentioned in passing, but I also don’t want to miss an implicit request for unders”
“Are there any neurodivergent teachers who went into admin and experienced a better overall quality of life? I know that going into Admin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I am almost finished with my CAGS for educational leadership in order to open up some opportunities for me. Why? Because I’ve been teaching 15 years, mostly elementary music and chorus, and the exorbitant overstimulation I face on the daily, seeing about 550 kids a week makes it so I go home and I can’t help but completely shut”
“I have AuDHD and found my niche in psych nursing! I even started a Little Free Library with neurodivergent and mental health related manga, graphic novels, comic anthologies, and other books that were very popular with the patients”
“Neurodivergent nurses, how did you make nursing work for you? Hi! It's surprisingly hard to find other AuDHD nurses on reddit, so I'm hoping someone here can relate. I was recently diagnosed, and now that I understand why certain things have always been difficult for me, I'm noticing them even more, especially at work. I’ve just started at a small private aesthetical sugery clinic, where my tasks can change quite a bit, and I may soon be trained as a scrub nurse and I already worked”
“I (33M) feel trapped in my career path. I am a teacher and course leader for further education in the UK. I am Neurodiverse (diagnosed with multiple things). I have 0 support network and no real family. No fall back options. I have the dread of loosing my job as I would effectively be homeless as I rent. No savings of note or any built wealth. I only graduated university in my mid 20's and I don't really enjoy the elements of the subject of my degree. I love teaching. But my main issue i”
“I flip flopped between yes and no, or even changing my answer every other application, and now I just select don't wish to disclose. It's not that I don't trust them to keep that info safe (even though that distrust does exist) but like why do I have to give them my information just to push them a little closer to their diversity quota that allows them to pat themselves on the back for doing the bare minimum?”
“No, but I do open up to my direct manager that I am autistic as it explains some things and how I’m best taught.”
“Given the political climate and ableism in the country, I am hesitant to even mark i have a disability of some sort, fearing that limits opportunities through screening. However, in the education sector, I feel a little more safer to do so? But not sure if I am shooting myself in the foot my self disclosing this. Recruiters, any insight? submitted by /u/Primary_Brilliant979 [link] [comments]”
“As someone who has worked sales and is neurodivergent, can confirm it's not an easy job for us. Unfortunately, the job market is very unkind to neurodivergent people. Which is why it's good for the interviewee to also be paying attention to the interviewer when being asked these questions. Sometimes the job isn't a good fit, that's not a bad thing.”
“Hi everyone, I was diagnosed with hEDS a few months ago, and I'm still trying to come to terms with what that means for my future. I'm also neurodivergent, which I think adds another layer to trying to understand my body and my limits. When I was diagnosed, my doctor told me that I can only manage symptoms, but they also said something that has really stuck with me: "With your age this level of flexibility is on the higher end of normal, but with the other symptoms you're experi”
“Neurodivergent Canadian CPA. I have my issues such as: - obsessing over little immaterial details - blurting out stuff that I should not say - easily getting angry - struggling to sit still; I constantly have to move around - struggling to pay attention But nowadays I run a part time CPA practice and work full time as a controller. It took me about 5y years of experience to reach the 120-130k/y total income mark (more like mid 110s if you count just the full time job). I invest in small cap stoc”
“(Background(?)) Hello, I'm 23 years old, I have been professionally diagnosed with ASD, and i have dyscalculia. I am unable to drive, and will most likely never be able to learn. I was homeschooled my whole life, but not...well. I ended up cheating through most of middle-school and high-school because I did not understand what I was supposed to be doing, and I was not given proper guidance or help with my work. I have also been infantalized throughout my life, and am currently working on unl”
“I was diagnosed with the "triple D" and low-average intelligence when I was 15, then re-evaluated again at 19. Last year, a friend told me I might also have ADHD (his dad has it), and honestly sometimes I fucking wish I didn't have any of this shit because it's only ever brought me pain. Doesn't matter if it was in school or now in my adult life-it's always fucked me in some way. My family knows about my condition, but they don't really get what I go through, and th”
“Being neurodivergent in the workplace these days is difficult for those of us that genuinely are. It seems like people are claiming to be so just to get attention. The memes, the jokes, the looks if you tell people you are like they're saying "Yeah, right." I wish people would stop using that as a free pass to be rude, self centered, and thoughtless but excusing it by claiming to be neurodivergent. It's not a choice. They have no idea what it's like to shrink back from an o”
“Hi, sorry that this is so long. I've known I was neurodivergent for a long time - dx with dyscalculia at 16, AS in my 20s (which, I know, isn't a term that's used anymore). I'm in my 40s now and have struggled in most nursing roles I've had due to social issues, sensory overload, and the chaotic schedules and environment. I've left the profession twice to pursue other career ideas, but recently returned for a variety of reasons that aren't really applicable to this si”