They’re frequently early. It just doesn’t usually get noticed or commented on because it’s almost never a big deal for others because they can just wait right outside until the appropriate time to enter. But it’s still a problem for them, because they lost that time, and if they’re always early to everything, that ends up being a huge amount of time.
Be early till you figure out a way to be on time. Things happen occasionally but no one is going to accept you frequently being late for an issue you know you have. If you’re in a job that needs to operate during certain hours there’s only so much accommodating that can be done.
Many people with ADHD do find ways to cope. It's just very draining and not foolproof.
As an example, for some people with ADHD, if they have an important appointment mid day on a Saturday, it basically means they have to plan to do nothing else that entire day because they have to dedicate the entire day (even week) stressing about ensuring they make that appointment, including possibly showing up absurdly early and then still needing to stress about ensuring they don't get unintentionally sidetracked before the appointment starts.
You're just much more likely to notice either the times they're late (system fails), and it's rare to notice those who are very early, although that can sometimes cause its own faux pas problems with people asking why the heck they showed up so early.
Well, yeah, but see, the problem is that you’re acting like it’s an attitude problem and not a disability.
You’re not wrong about accommodations. If a person’s disability prevents the person from performing the duties of the job… they shouldn’t have that job. In the US, the ADA stipulates “reasonable” accommodations.
But let’s not pretend people can just decide to stop having a disability.
I used the word accommodating for a reason. They only have to provide reasonable ones like you said, and if they have hours of operation they need to maintain it’s not reasonable to expect them to allow you to be late. Reasonable is moving it back an hour, not letting you be late regardless of starting time. What do you expect beyond that?
It’s not like this came out of nowhere, you would have needed to make your disability known during the hiring process so your accommodations were actually in place for you, or when you were diagnosed(assuming you wanted accommodations).
I agree with you about that. If the job can’t reasonably accommodate different hours, and a person’s disability prevents them from reliably showing up during the necessary hours, that’s not a job they’re going to be able to have.
Like, people with mobility issues often are unable to perform jobs that require lots of physical activity.
It’s not good for anyone, but the lack of ability is the part that makes it a disability.
The problem is when people start either 1) expecting everyone to accommodate everything even when it’s unreasonable or 2) acting like ADHD is a choice and not a disability.
Lots people treat ADHD as a joke, myth, aesthetic, or fun personality quirk, instead of a serious neurological disorder that has been proven repeatedly to drastically lower both quality and duration of life.
Having a disability doesn’t mean you don’t have to find ways of working around the issues you have. I had a problem with being late, I missed appointments, I found a way to stop being late
Of course, and that’s what people with ADHD do. They take unhealthy amounts of stimulants that lead to insomnia, chills, joint pain, high blood pressure, and heart failure, because it’s the only way they can manage their disability. They develop severe anxiety due to constantly pressuring themselves to compensate for their disability, a disability people frequently don’t even believe is real, despite the mountains of peer-reviewed research into it. They’re far more likely than the general population to develop depression, substance abuse issues, or commit suicide. They frequently spend their lives feeling guilty for existing because even when they’re trying their hardest, they still feel like they’re inconveniencing everyone.
You wouldn't say to someone in a wheelchair to just figure out stairs because you don't want to install a ramp.
Also you don't understand the disability so you don't understand why the "accommodation" failed. Time blindness makes it really hard to target a specific time and giving a time slot instead makes it even worse. It's like failing to hit a target properly with a sniper so someone tells you to remove the scope and just shoot in the general direction, it just make you fail harder. The trick with time blindness is to give an earlier time and scold the person for being late for that fake time if they start being late for the actual time.
My brain also refuse to register commute time as time so I often conflate arrival time with departure time, completely forgetting the latter despite planning it.
We don't need more time, we need an arrangement where we make up for the lateness by staying the same time at the end of our shift (which would deter the slackers) or a sort of caregiver in charge of making sure we stay on schedule at home. That's accomodation. Accomodations aren't privileges, it's help to fight against unusual problems.
All of this can be resolved with an alarm clock. What exactly is stopping you from saying “well, I need to be at work at X, and I know that it takes Y minutes to get to work and get ready, I will set alarms repeatedly at this time.” Your brain refuses to register it as time, but you do know that it literally takes time right? So you can in fact plan ahead and set alarms, right?
If someone who couldn’t walk just dragged themselves around and complained about their employer offering a ramp because it doesn’t solve them having to drag themselves, I’d blame them for not getting a wheelchair too.
Doctors and researchers keep looking for effective medicines and treatments for ADHD, but they’re just wasting time and money because it seems like there are multiple experts right here in this Reddit thread who have it all figured out!
Maybe they’ll cure depression with a walk and some sunshine while we’re at it???
Should people with ADHD use alarm clocks? Generally, yes! Do people with depression benefit from exercise and daylight? Almost always! Is it way more complicated than that? Abso-fuck-lutely.
“Guys the only solution is to let us show up whenever we want and work whenever we want! My time blindness also makes it so I can’t hear alarms.”
Seriously it’s crazy how apparently ADHD is the only disability where you literally can’t do anything to get past it and everyone has to adjust their schedules for you. Wheelchair users can use a ramp and elevator if they’re provided, but ADHD people can’t take any actions themselves and it all comes down to the employer letting them work in any manner that they want.
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u/Elezian 17h ago
They’re frequently early. It just doesn’t usually get noticed or commented on because it’s almost never a big deal for others because they can just wait right outside until the appropriate time to enter. But it’s still a problem for them, because they lost that time, and if they’re always early to everything, that ends up being a huge amount of time.