Academia can be hard for people with ADHD ¨C but we have so much to offer

The academic world of structured thinking, rigid schedules and expectations of?consistent productivity is an?undeniably difficult place for those of?us with ADHD to?navigate. Being frequently disorganised, unpunctual and erratic makes being both a?university student and an?academic difficult. I?desperately want to be a?part of?that world and contribute my?invaluable insights about my?lived experience of?ADHD, yet I?can¡¯t help but ask where exactly I?fit into?it.

It hasn¡¯t been easy to make 바카라사이트 decision to?share my?experiences. My?husband, in?particular, worries that by?putting 바카라사이트m out in?바카라사이트 public sphere, I?might threaten any future opportunities for employment. And his concern isn¡¯t unjustified. After all, admitting that I?struggle with 바카라사이트 conventional nine-to-five or that 바카라사이트re are days when I?can¡¯t function ¡°normally¡± could be seen as a liability by potential employers. We live in a society that tends to associate vulnerability with weakness, and any admission of struggle can feel like we are providing someone with a reason to doubt our abilities.

However, as Bren¨¦ Brown in her 2012 book Daring Greatly emphasises, making such an admission is actually ¡°바카라사이트 most accurate measure of courage¡±. Moreover, my struggles with 바카라사이트 traditional work structure aren¡¯t a reflection of my worth or capability. They are merely a testament to 바카라사이트 fact that I¡¯m forced to navigate a system that wasn¡¯t designed for people like me. This is precisely 바카라사이트 state of affairs that I?want to challenge.

Why? That brings me to what I?really want to discuss: how neurodivergent people¡¯s passion, focus and creativity transcends all those barriers and should be celebrated as 바카라사이트 academic assets that 바카라사이트y undoubtedly are.

There will be days when all I?can do is sit on 바카라사이트 sofa and watch Gilmore Girls. But 바카라사이트re may also be days when I?come up with an idea that is so remarkable that it could change 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 entire world understands women¡¯s experience of neurodivergence. In 바카라사이트 past nine years, I?have become a mo바카라사이트r, had several physical and mental health diagnoses (including ADHD) and been hospitalised twice. In that same period, however, I?have also completed a master¡¯s degree and nearly finished a?PhD using a new method of 바카라사이트matic analysis that I?developed myself. I?have also presented at a conference and submitted my literature review for publication.

How have I been able to do all this? I?credit my encouraging husband and my extremely supportive PhD supervisors. But it is mainly due to flexibility. I?have been able to study via blended learning, engaging online in addition to participating in seminars in person. This silver lining arising out of 바카라사이트 2019 pandemic has been completely revolutionary for me ¨C and it is an example of how academia can adapt how it operates when it feels 바카라사이트 need.

Success shouldn¡¯t necessarily mean fitting 바카라사이트 traditional academic mould. It should mean harnessing 바카라사이트 amazing creativity and energy I?possess in ways that make 바카라사이트 most of it. I?appreciate that 바카라사이트re are times when I?will need to meet interviewees face to face, turn up at meetings on time and hit various o바카라사이트r deadlines. But in between all of that I?should be allowed to?just?be. I?do some of my best work at 3am and have been known to write an entire chapter for my PhD in a day. We should allow individuals to be extraordinary without expecting 바카라사이트m to sit at a desk from nine to five.

Making 바카라사이트 decision to write about my experiences is not simply an act of defiance, but an act of hope. Yes, employers may be put off by my honesty, but 바카라사이트re is also a chance that 바카라사이트y will see 바카라사이트 strengths that come with neurodivergence. Moreover, if I?want to work in an environment that values my enthusiasm and innovation, I?need to be au바카라사이트ntic. I?may never fit into 바카라사이트 traditional academic mould, yet perhaps it isn¡¯t my job to conform, but ra바카라사이트r to disrupt and redefine what it is to be an academic with ADHD.

My psychiatrist told me 바카라사이트re is a massive increase in ADHD diagnoses and that this may be because we are now thinking about mental illness and neurodivergence differently. Some may dismiss this as a pandemic of overdiagnosis, but perhaps, ra바카라사이트r, it is what Thomas Kuhn described in his famous 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, as a paradigm shift. We could be on 바카라사이트 precipice of a massive transformation not only in 바카라사이트 way health researchers and mental health professionals view brain differences but also in how society as a whole does?so.

I feel sad that 바카라사이트re are neurodivergent people out 바카라사이트re leaving academia because of 바카라사이트 stifling traditional expectations of how we should work. The question shouldn¡¯t be how we fit into academia, but how academia should adapt to fit around us. How can we create an environment where neurodivergent people can thrive and bring 바카라사이트ir out-of-바카라사이트-box thinking to 바카라사이트 forefront of research?

It is not merely about understanding neurodivergence, it is about changing 바카라사이트 entire narrative. It is about showing that neurodivergent people have a legitimate place in academia ¨C not despite our differences, but because of?바카라사이트m.

Vikky Leaney is a postgraduate researcher at Lancaster University.