Swim teaching - To struggle to think of reasonable adjustments for ADHD?

[Gotabadfeelingaboutthis]

So Jenny (not real name) has ADHD and is a swimming teacher.
She presents in a very hyper state for work, is often late and arrives disheveled, disorganised and dysregulated. She also may not have the things she needs with her. In the pool, she is very heightened, which can present as either hyperactive and loud, or dysregulated, snappy, tearful etc. If the children in the pool are struggling to regulate, she becomes very frantic and cries. Jenny does have things going on in her personal life, but she leads a life which appears to lurch from one drama to another, and the people (family) around her exacerbate issues. To add balance, Jenny is also very thoughtful and kind, she does not have a good support network at home, and does want to do well at work.
Her workplace want to put in place reasonable adjustments to support her and enable her to do her job effectively but it is very difficult to think how her ADHD could be accommodated in a swimming pool setting, as things like a quiet room to work in, softer lighting, headphones on etc wouldn't work for a swimming teacher! In terms of her lateness, the way the business operates means she chooses which days she works already. It is so difficult balancing supporting her, with keeping the children in the pool safe and ensuring they are getting effective teaching. I would welcome any suggestions.

Jenny is in the wrong job.

This is the wrong job for her. She cannot co-regulate children and keep them safe whilst she is so dysregulated herself. You can make adjustments for the organisation side of things but fundamentally she cannot regulate herself and doesn’t seem to have any strategies or insight into how to help herself.

I would be surprised at parents witnessing this and still keep paying for lessons with this girl.

How long has she had the job? Have you addressed any of this with her? What feedback are the parents giving?

You cannot compromise safety. There are few more dangerous places for children to be with an adult who’s not in control than water!

I can’t believe the parents are just accepting this behaviour tbh. My child would not be going back to that lesson if the swimming teacher got frantic and cried. Sorry OP safety first, she needs a different role.

Sorry but another parent saying it just doesn't sound like it will work unfortunately child safety is priority.
Surely parents must have noticed her becoming frantic and distressed and leaving the children alone in the pool?
We sit poolside at swimming lessons, but up on the stands, I think there would likely be mass parental panic if the instructor got out and left 4yos in the pool?

This.
Just because we want to do a job, doesn’t mean we can. I might want to be a model but I’m not pretty enough. And I’m not clever enough to be a professor of astrophysics. And I’m not patient enough to make mosaics.
Jenny doesn’t have the right temperament to teach kids to swim. Regardless of whether someone has ADHD, ASD or just personality traits, if their temperament doesn’t fit the job, then there are no “reasonable adjustments” that can facilitate it.

It's sounds as though reasonable adjustments are being made for Jenny already.

Jenny needs to take on the responsibility of not being late, having thinks in place to make sure she is on time and has all of her equipment. I think an employer can offer advice on what might help, but ultimately it's up to Jenny to implement these.

Does Jenny have a diagnosis and take medication? It sounds as though she could benefit from professional help before she loses her job.

Thanks all, you are confirming my thoughts exactly.

Just to clarify for those of you who are (rightly!) concerned, because of Jenny's difficulties, we do not ever leave her alone in the pool with the children, there is always another teacher in with her. This is not sustainable long term but the extra training/support was to see if we could help her learn to better regulate herself in the water once the job became more familiar to her.

How did she qualify,? surely these issues would have came up on her course? Why does she have her own lessons? Can she assist a teacher instead of taking a leading role?

There is a reason they are called reasonable adjustments. How long have you basically being paying two people to do one job? Because it is not reasonable to expect you to do that long term. What has she done to help herself during this time? Has she suggested anything that may help with how she handles the pool environment/children?

Has she recently qualified?
SE or STA?
How did she get on with the course?
Whilst you're looking at adjustments what does she want adjustment wise?
She has got to want to help herself rather than expect you to do it all just because she wants to teach

This alone is the reason why it’s not ok: “If the children in the pool are struggling to regulate, she becomes very frantic and cries.”

I think that unfortunately would make for a poor learning environment for kids whatever the lesson type. Add in the potential for child to drown while she’s not in control then you’ve got a disaster waiting to happen quite frankly.

You can accommodate the rest but that bit is a massive red flag.

I have ADHD and work in HR, I agree with other posters that this isn’t the job for her. But I’d also support her to apply to Access to Work and try and get an ADHD coach who might be able to help steer her in a better direction.

She needs to be well regulated before she’s even in the water so having someone in there with her won’t have a huge impact if she’s already over the threshold.

Accommodations around planning and organising are reasonable. If she can’t manage her emotional regulation then she needs to learn how to do so/consider meds/strategies and address these things if possible or recognise that this role isn’t suitable at this time. Accommodations are a legal obligation but this doesn’t mean compromising a child’s safety. ADHD has different severity levels and presentations and there could be other things going on I don’t think it’s possible to suggest tailored suggestions for an individual unless there is an understanding of individual presentation and need.

Jenny needs to find a different job tbh. She is going to m herself unwell by putting her in a physical environment that is incompatible with her wellbeing.

Scheduled downtime where she can sit comfortably without bright lights, noise and disturbance between sessions, possibly outside away from customers (no 'you must not leave the premises under any circumstances until you have finished for the day') could help, as going from one session straight to another with all the noise and the lighting can increase disregulation. Not having awful music that's too loud going all the time (one of my most hated things about fitness environments, as it's often too loud to think) is another one.

Jenny needs a different job. Jenny is not suited to working as a swimming teacher.

The key is reasonable adjustments. Her problems sound like they make her unsafe to be around children in water. I also wonder if she is misdiagnosed - did she get her diagnosis from an NHS assessor? There are certain personality disorders which can look similar and people may be given ND diagnosis when actually the problem is more personality based. And vice versa.

This.

'Reasonable adjustments' have to be 'reasonable'.
Ultimately, some people aren't suited to some jobs.
It will vary. I have 2 dc with ADHD. Both have managed to work as lifeguards (same environment) and one of them as a swimming teacher. But obviously people are affected differently. In this case you have done what you can to see if it will work, but it doesn't work for her so you have to put the safety of the children first.

Sadly it doesn't sound like being a swimming teacher is for her and her Clients may well start voting with their feet.

I wouldn't want to entrust my child's safety in water to someone with an attention deficit.

And autistic children need someone who us calm and consistent.

You can't have a swimming teacher crying in the pool in front of kids. She's not fit for the job if she's doing this more than a one off.

I have ADHD as do my kids. I'm not unsympathetic but not everyone is right for every role all the time.

Safety comes first.

This is not the right job for her.