Studies have shown that individuals with attention deficit disorders have difficulty focusing at work, but could ADD or ADHD actually be good for your overall career trajectory?
On HuffPost Live Tuesday, one woman explained how her ADD helped her identify jobs that energize her most and build a successful career based on those skills. Although Melody Fletcher admitted she has changed careers five times -- something that is common for those with the condition -- she said she has excelled nonetheless by choosing positions that offer constant change.
"I never got into the day-to-day doldrums of operations that never change," Fletcher told HuffPost Live. "It was always building something up, starting new stores, building new projects. That kept me from getting bored. If you involve yourself in jobs like that as a person with ADD, you can be incredibly successful because this is when your ADD actually serves you. Where other people would be stressed out beyond belief, you're flying at that point."
New research indicates that ADHD diagnoses have increased by 25 percent in the last decade. As ADHD and ADD become more prevalent, Fletcher argued that individuals like herself should view it as evolution, not a disorder, and work to embrace it in their adult lives.
"Why should we focus on things we don't care about?" Fletcher asked. "We're simply less willing to do it. It is not an affliction. We are not broken human beings."
Attorney Mindy Chapman told HuffPost Live that employers should encourage employees with attention deficit disorders to come forward and then consider reasonable accommodations. Chapman cited a recent court decision that sided with a man who sued under the American with Disabilities Act after he was fired because of his ADHD.
Watch the Full Interview on HuffPost Live.