ADHD Friendly Careers Support is Key to Encouraging Young People with the Condition to Thrive

As a Careers Adviser, I have spent many years working with young people with ADHD and related conditions such as autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, as well as those who are undiagnosed but show common traits such as anxiety, impulsiveness and time blindness. ADHD is also within my family, so I am very familiar with the unique challenges that come with neurodiversity. 

My own personal and professional experience led me to recognise possible traits and symptoms of the condition in the young people I was working with.  I then decided to conduct a pilot study to explore how common ADHD may be among young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). During the study, which forms part of Career Connect’s Practitioner Research Programme, a group of 100 NEET young people (aged 16-24) were invited to take part in ADHD screening, using a validated tool. The research found extremely high levels of the condition, with almost nine out of 10 (88%) either having an existing diagnosis, or showing a possible or high likelihood of ADHD being present.   

I chose ADHD as an area to research as I felt the traits and symptoms of the condition appeared to be common in many NEET young people I’d worked with, and can be particularly disruptive to career planning. 

ADHD and Overcoming Barriers to Youth Employment

If the rate really is as high as my study suggests, surely, providing an ADHD-friendly approach would have a significant impact on reducing youth unemployment. Understanding the condition is the first step towards helping young people with ADHD to overcome the barriers they may face on their career journey. 

Symptoms of this neuro type, including anxiety, impulsiveness, procrastination, masking, time blindness and difficulty following instructions, as well as issues with focussing and completing tasks, can all lead to challenges in career planning. It’s important for Careers Advisers to be aware of any sensory issues too, so for example, a job as a chef could be a challenge for someone who is sensitive to noise and busy environments. On the other hand, it’s quite common for those who are neurodivergent to have a lot of skills that suit certain career paths including entrepreneurship, so supporting and broadening their options can go a long way to helping them to succeed. 

Ultimately, Careers Advisers should be prepared to work in a slightly different way with neurodivergent young people who may have struggled through school and are trying to fit into a world that’s not set up for them. Research tells us that executive functioning is delayed among those with ADHD, which can impact on decision making, planning and organisation skills. It can be useful to know that it can take longer for young people with the condition to achieve goals, so it’s often a case of taking baby steps. Social anxiety can also be a challenge, which means Careers Advisers should be ready to negotiate on their behalf. The right careers support can empower neurodivergent young people to reach their full potential.

Here are some useful tips for Careers Advisers supporting young people with ADHD: 

• Find Out What Makes Them Tick – young people with ADHD need to be motivated in order to do well. While they often struggle to focus on boring or mundane tasks, they can do exceptionally well with work they enjoy. It’s important to learn about their passions and interests, so we can help them to play to their strengths.
• Champion Them and Help Build Confidence – young people with ADHD often experience low self-esteem. This can stem from receiving negative feedback, facing criticism, or even being excluded from school. They need to know their condition is understood and they’re not going to get told off for appearing lazy or stupid.  
• Show Understanding – rejection sensitivity dysphoria, or over sensitivity to being rejected, whether this is real or perceived, can make it very difficult for a young person with ADHD to bounce back if a job or training opportunity doesn’t work out. It doesn’t mean they don’t have lots of talent, they often just need the right support and environment to be able to thrive. 
• Keep Careers Meetings Short – people with ADHD can get easily distracted, so it’s best to keep careers meetings short and snappy, lasting no more than 45 minutes.  
• Location Matters – it may be uncomfortable for someone with this neuro type to have meetings in open plan offices. It’s important they feel in control, so always try to provide a location that suits them. 

There are a lot of preconceptions about what ADHD looks like and it’s a common misunderstanding that the condition is characterised by hyperactivity and disruptive behaviour. However, this neuro type can be found among those who are quiet or shy, and women can often be misdiagnosed with anxiety or depression. In my day-to-day role, I’m interested in supporting young people who are both diagnosed and those showing possible traits that are causing difficulties with their progression.

Girls were substantially more likely than boys to screen for a high likelihood of ADHD and be undiagnosed

Interestingly, my recent study revealed that girls were substantially more likely than boys to screen for a high likelihood of ADHD and be undiagnosed. Among the girls without an existing diagnosis, the research showed as many as three in five (60%) were highly likely to have the condition, almost double the number of boys without an existing diagnosis, of which there were 32%. Optional ADHD screening can be a valuable part of the career planning process, helping people to access the support they need to move forward and potentially understand that their brains work in a different way.

As part of my research, I used a screening tool from the charity ADHD Liberty, adapted from a tool used by Psych Central. ADHD Liberty, who used the screening tool in their own research into the likelihood of undiagnosed ADHD amongst the adult prison population, advised me on its use in my study with NEET young people. 

At Career Connect, we plan to extend opportunities for this type of screening, which we hope will help more young people to understand the condition and the impact it may have had on their experiences in life so far. While not a clinical diagnosis, the knowledge that ADHD could be possible or likely, enables young people to take positive action.

We would like to see greater awareness of the impact of the condition on young people, as well as a better understanding of the way neurodivergent young people engage with careers services. Wider research tells us that people who are diagnosed with ADHD in childhood or adolescence have an increased risk of unemployment as adults. That should not be the case. At Career Connect, the findings of this recent study will be used to enhance support services for neurodivergent young people on their career journey. 

By Jenny Booth, Careers Adviser at Career Connect