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By Marlo Lyons
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Last year, 21.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed, up from 19.1 percent in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Being a part of the workforce when you have a disability isn't easy. People with "invisible" disabilities often mask them, hiding their disability from friends and co-workers to "fit in" and not feel judged.
But sometimes their disability shows up as a lack of "normative" or "expected" behavior or social skills that can be perceived as a performance issue, and the disabled employee feels further labeled or misunderstood.
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Taking the time to proactively discuss your disability with a new manager and colleagues early in your relationship will set the stage for continued transparency in communication. Setting up a meeting and using a visual aid such as a PowerPoint or other presentation can help normalize the conversation around facts on the screen.
Here are five areas to cover in this conversational presentation:
1. Describe What Your Disability Is and What It Is Not
Whether your disability is physical or invisible, describe it in medical or factual terms.
For example: "Crohn's disease is a chronic disease that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, which can cause severe stomach pain, diarrhea and fatigue. It is not contagious and is not life-threatening unless untreated."
Another example would be: "ADHD is a mental health or neurodevelopment disorder that causes a wide range of symptoms depending on the person, such as impulsivity, inability to focus on tasks that are not interesting or engaging and difficulty staying organized. It is not an impairment of intelligence or creativity. In fact, most ADHD people exhibit a very high level of creative thinking and intuition."
Most important, make it clear that your disability is never an excuse but will require some adjustment in how you and your manager work together.
2. Describe How Your Disability Presents Itself
If your disability could create perceptions about you that are not accurate, explain how your disability presents itself and your awareness of how such behavior can be perceived.
For example, if you have Crohn's disease you may be late to meetings if you need to use the restroom. Explaining this up front and providing meeting leaders with enough information as to why you may be late could help thwart misperceptions about your being rude or inconsiderate of others' time.
If you have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, you could explain how your impulsivity in speech and lack of ability to realize when someone is done talking causes you to interrupt people when they are speaking. Without context, co-workers may think you're shutting down the conversation.
You know yourself better than anyone, so discussing how your disability shows up for you will make it more personal and help your manager understand the behavior in context.
3. Describe How You Take Accountability for Your Disability
Owning your disability and how it can be perceived demonstrates your self-awareness about how others may misinterpret your behavior.
Someone with Crohn's disease could say that they will always let someone know if they are running late for a meeting and that their tardiness is because of a disability they are managing. And someone with ADHD may catch themselves interrupting others and apologize.
Someone with a disability that manifests behaviors that could be perceived negatively might point out that they can be overly prescriptive in their communication of why they do what they do. It's done to ensure that others know their pure intent.
4. Describe What You Need From Your Manager to Be Successful
Tell your manager what you need to be successful. This will provide a road map for how to work with you and support you.
Someone with Crohn's disease could ask to work from home unless there is a specific need to come to the office. They could also provide their manager with supportive language to use with co-workers if anyone mentions they are always late to meetings.
For example, they could ask their manager to say, "I'm sorry, Steve will be late today. He is tending to a personal disability and does intend to attend the meeting when he is able. We can start without him, and I will update him on what he missed."
Providing your manager language to use to support you if others mention your disability-caused behavior allows you to make your manager your advocate regarding your disability. The manager can immediately correct any unintended consequences of your behavior.
Here's an example of what a manager can say to support an employee with ADHD: "[Employee] has a disability that prevents him from being able to understand when someone is done talking, so he interrupts others at times. But note that [employee] always has the positive intention of enthusiastically engaging in the conversation and is not trying to shut down others from speaking."
This is not about making excuses for employees' behavior but having an advocate to help dispel any unintended negative narratives.
5. Leave Time for Questions
Now that you have educated your manager and team members, leave time for answering questions. Be open to any question asked. You live with your disability every day, but your manager or colleagues may have never been exposed to it until this discussion.
They may need more information to truly understand that you are not discussing your behaviors, actions or inactions to excuse them but to provide context regarding what you can or can't change.
Empathetic and growth-minded managers and colleagues will be curious and want to learn how to leverage your strengths and help support you. When employees explain how their brain works—and their ensuing actions before they occur—managers can support them and won't ask them to change inherent behaviors.
On the lookout for a new job? Read the previous article in this series about whether you should disclose a disability to a new or potential employer.
About the Author
Marlo Lyons is a certified career, executive and team coach and author of Wanted—A New Career: The Definitive Playbook for Transitioning to a New Career or Finding Your Dream Job. Marlo has spent more than 20 years inspiring, motivating and empowering people to excel in their careers and businesses. She helps leaders at all levels to achieve their desired career goals and empower their employees to reach optimal performance. Marlo developed Career Transition Strategies from her experience coaching hundreds of clients in many industries, her role as a human resources executive in startups and Fortune 500 companies, and from transitioning from TV news reporter to entertainment lawyer, HR business partner and certified coach. Contact her at marlolyonscoaching.com.
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