To disclose that I have ADHD in my application for a role working with children with SEND?

[Doyoureallylikeitisitisitwicked]

I am completing an application for a role working with children with SEN and/ or disabilities.

I have a lot of professional experience and qualifications in this area. I was diagnosed with ADHD around a year ago and therefore have never considered disclosing this when applying for a job.

I don’t require any adjustments so no need to disclose for that reason - I just wondered if I should include it in my personal statement to explain that I have lived experience.

WIBU to include this in my application or should I leave it out (as I always have done in the past as I was undiagnosed).

Maybe I should post this in an employment section if there is one…

Lived experience is highly valued by my employer (NHS) and so I would mention it in the statement if I were you.

I would include it definitely. You can potentially understand the children / people better than a NT person and they can relate to you better.

Also gives the person a role model to look up

Thank you, I have experienced negativity from people I’ve disclosed my diagnosis too (including friends who are HCPs!) so I feel reticent in case it leads to me being discriminated against.

A local Special school around here has a member of senior staff with adhd. She's brilliant - and yes - she has lived experience.

I work a different role in a different special school (we know each other through training) and have a disabled son. Again a different lived experience.

I think it is relevant.

Do you have to declare it in long term conditions? If so, then they'll know about it anyway. You might as well show how positive it can be for their business.

Would you really want to work somewhere with SEN children that thought it was acceptable to discriminate against adults with SEN? That sounds like an awful place! Definitely put it down and be proud - show what a positive it can be - if they aren't interested due to that then you've dodged a bullet IMO!

No it doesn’t have to be declared.

Thanks that’s a good point. I know nothing about the organisation so no way of knowing what their culture is like. It’s not a SEND specific organisation but this role is specifically for supporting that subset of children, other areas of the business support other children.

That’s interesting thank you!

Thank you

Thank you

I work in an SEN school and loads of us have ADHD. In fact our head teacher has it and is very open about it. We have a lot of staff with autism and dyspraxia as well as other conditions that need reasonable adjustments and it's honestly not an issue at all.

Depending on the role and organisation. I recruit in the NHS a lot and what I realised very quickly was that if you meet the essential criteria the rest of the application form doesn’t matter you get short listed anyway. It always seems a shame when you can tell someone has spent ages completing a form compared with someone who just fulfils the essential criteria. They both get an interview and it’s all then about the interview.

If it would help demonstrate toward an essential criteria eg. Experience working in an ADHD service required and you don’t have that you could demonstrate having been through a diagnostic pathway and I would definitely accept that as it would be invaluable having a someone from the “other side” working in the service.

I’d still be cautious doing this, you don’t want to give them a really detailed demonstration in the application form and for them to read it and then you get asked a question in the interview you can use the information in the application to answer because the panel will already know this about you and you feel like you are repeating yourself.

I wouldn’t see the purpose of you just putting in as part of a generic I would be good as a person with ADHD to work with children with SEND.

I’m not being very concise today or explaining well, I’m trying to explain you have lived experience and try to use this in away that creates the biggest impact to make a good impression, if that makes any sense at all!

I wouldn’t be worried about them discriminating, if they don’t value (or think badly of you) your experiences in a place that works with children with SEND would you want to work there?

good luck!!!

I think you’re saying save it for interview and disclose it there if it feels relevant to a competency question?

good advice, thanks!

When shortlisting a teacher, it would neither count for or against you. If you've shoehorned it in for the sake of it, it may look clunky, but it certainly would not be a reason to discount you. Similarly, I'm not going to read your application and assume you'd be great for the job based on that alone.
Tldr: your call!

@Doyoureallylikeitisitisitwicked yes and much better and clearer explanation from you what I mean 😂!

I applied to work in a residential setting with autistic children when I suspected I was autistic but wasn't diagnosed so obviously couldn't declare it. I tried to allude to it in my interview. They said I was too sensitive and they didn't think it would work out! Got diagnosed a year or two later.

If you disclose it they can make reasonable adjustments
I have a bit of an issue though that someone's personal experience of a disability will automatically make them more understanding ADHD like autism is a huge spectrum how one person experiences it has no relevance to how another person experience, s it

Thanks I’ve covered in the op that I don’t need adjustments.

I also don’t consider myself to have a disability.

Thank you

Interesting, thank you!

Well that's fine but many people do I guess you can only go off your own experience of your condition

I'm not quite following you but thanks for replying, anyway.

I am a teacher with dyspraxia and I declare that and another condition that is also legally classed as a disability. This means that should anything come up my school are aware of any implications of it for example I have Crohn's disease so cannot clean up upset stomach contents from either end as the resulting bug could leave me hospitalised.

I also share my condos with my class, parents etc as when they have concerns about their child to know the quite successful, happy and contented adult in front of them has a condition but has made a good life it really helps them.