Abstract
Background In recent years, ADHD in adults has increased in knowledge and awareness; however the lack of experiences of youth in the workplace is still misunderstood. Adults with ADHD can range from those not diagnosed, diagnosed in adulthood, those who are misdiagnosed and those diagnosed as a child with ADHD that persists into adulthood. As a result, adults with ADHD symptoms have been seen to struggle in multiple areas of their life. Additionally, individuals with ADHD often felt low self-esteem, hopelessness, underachievement and without potential. Aim Therefore, the aim was to find out the experience of youth with ADHD in their career areas of their lives, to investigate if there is ADHD stigma in the workplace and any interventions used to accommodate individuals with ADHD are in place. Method Aiming to understand the youth with ADHD’s lived experience in their careers, a qualitative research design phenomenological approach with a social constructivist framework was used. The target population was those between the ages of 18 and 35 years old who had been diagnosed with ADHD. In order to learn about their lived experiences an in-depth, self designed, semi-structured open ended interview schedule was used. In addition to this, a self design qualitative biographical questionnaire was used to triangulate the information. To identify, analyse and report on the patterns found in the data provided, a thematic analysis was done. Conclusion As a result, three main themes emerged from the participants lived experiences. The theme of knowledge of ADHD and its effect on ADHD experience, the second theme of mindfulness of ADHD leading to more acceptance and understanding of ADHD and 4 thirdly the majority of the participants experience a positive working environment. As a result, contrary to past research individuals with ADHD are having positive experience in their employment.
M.Ed. (Psychology)