Having LD as an adult in a work enviornment

I don’t know. I don’t have any good news for you. I have the same problem, and have been fired from three jobs because of it. I now work as a graveyard clerk at a convenience store, because there is less interaction with information I have to process.

If that job doesn’t work out you will have to try another job. And just keep trying until you find the right fit.

It’s been an extremely dissapointing journey for me, as I can read, type, do well in most subjects in school and understand many things but listening to verbal directions, with more than three steps is almost impossible every time… which is a requirement for almost every job. It SUCKS not to be able to “keep up.” The best thing is to find a work environment where there are others like you, and just have a sense of humor with yourself about it and be self-confident. I always tell everybody, “Hold on - I’ve got a three item limit in my brain - more than three steps and write it down or I won’t remember!” More people will be comfortable with you if you are comfortable with YOURSELF. If not - because there are people who are just, well… mean…. try not to surround yourself with people like that.

Luckily the store I work at has great benefits (medical, dental, retirement) even though the pay is minimum wage, and there are lots of people with learning disabilities that work there and are appreciated for their hard work.

Good luck to you!

Let your boss and human resources departments know about your disability. Then inform them that the best accommodation they can make is to give all assignments via writing. My mom has a auditory LD, and all her assignments are sent to her via email. it seems to work well for her.

I agree with DragonDream. You should inform the human resources about your learning disability so that they would not expect too much from you and so that you’ll be able to perform according to the best of your ability. I’m sure that they’ll be able to come up with the right workload fit your you.

Good Luck!

[quote=Olive]Hi,

I just joined this site after looking for a while trying to find Forums that had other adults with LD. I am writing to everyone, becuase I am in my second full-time job after college and I have continually faced some obstacles and I wanted to get feedback from other adults who are in a work enviornment with LD. I am not quite sure what my specific condition is called but I’ll describe it.
I’ve always had problems following directions when there are many steps involved. I have therefore, learned that I need to write down everything, if I am going to be succesful. That has definatly worked. However, now that I am working in an office, I have a lot more to absorb and there are times when i am still missing aspects of an assignment, becuase I could not process everything. I was wondering if there were any other people with this problem and if they have come up with ways to get around it or reduce the mistakes.
[Modified by: Olive on June 28, 2010 10:56 AM][/quote]

Hi Olive,

Personally, as an adult with LD, I would not disclose unless you had no choice. Just my experience.

The first thing to look it is why you’re missing aspects of the assignment. Is it a case of not having enough time to write everything down or what is the issue? I would also make sure you verify your understanding of what is being asked.

I would then tell your supervisor if she/he has noticed that you missed aspect of an assignment that you want to do a good job for him/her and work best when you can do ––—.

If no one has noticed and you’re catching your mistakes, it still is important to realize what caused you to miss aspects of the assignment so you don’t get into future difficulties with your supervisor.

For me personally, it could be that my attention wasn’t there. For you, it might be something else.

Also, I would not tell human resources to expect less from you. Not to sound cold but employers have hired you to get the job done. If you can’t, someone else will.

Good luck.

PT

I have been employed a total of 12 times since I was 16. I am now 32 years old and completely hitting a dead end!…

Primarily because fears and anxiety have taken their toll on my well-being. I do have to say, I wake up every morning with a positive attitude and try to overcome the situation. Most of my jobs have been quitting, mainly because of bad judgment (reading certain cues) in fear that “I’m going to get fired anyway” or can’t get along with my co-workers.

On other occasions it has also been an economic restructuring where there were layoffs (so I don’t feel as bad :) ). BUT, I have been fired for making too many mistakes.

I was born with Complete Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. Most with my situation, suffer from other, more severe malformations/disabilities such as cerebral palsy or down syndrome. So I consider myself the lucky one. Yet, it is a constant daily struggle to deal with every little situation that arises.

Ironically, I’ve lived a relatively normal life, due to the fact that I wasn’t diagnosed until last year (31yrs old). The downside, has been the auto-labeling as an aloof, careless, lazy, rude ‘kid,teen,adult’. In all situations, they have been wrong, but to my defense, I totally believed it and tried so hard to better my “attitude”.

All I can say now is “doh”, as I really had a difficult time reading peoples expressions, acting on them and “completing a social sale” let’s say.

My main issue, in finding a job, is not really getting it… because I come off as smart, witty (I’d have to say that my sister helped me out a lot with her ‘natural sarcasm’) and sociable person. It is now a mixture of insecurities along with a bouncy resume. In that, I’m faced with a lot of questions as to “why?”, and the inability to answer them honestly because of not being able to disclose my disability (in fear of being rejected because it’s too much trouble for the employer to deal with).

I have also had a hard time finding a job that I truly enjoy, because I take into account that I do love to socialize, yet lack the knack for dealing with office politics (be it in a retail, warehouse or administrative environment).

I’ve come to a point in my life whereby I’m utterly confused. I’m letting things fall apart, and stick to the items on my list I’m familiar with. My routine also feels mundane, even if I’m most comfortable with it!

I’m the type of person who needs order, but when order falls apart, along I go with it!. I tend to be extremely orderly in my home, but if mess takes over, I don’t know where to begin in taking charge over it. Something as simple as a toy on the floor, dishes in the sink or an overflowing laundry basket overwhelm me. And I do exactly as I would in a social situation (back away and isolate myself-creating a larger problem, as I’m the only one who takes control of these tasks). The above scenario is what brings me online. It’s my gateway to escape from what really needs to be done, in hopes that I find some insight and/or motivation for getting back on track!

Hi, although I am currently laid off right now. I do know what you are speaking of but I don’t know what the specific name is for it. I suggest if you haven’t already done son, to go to your state’s dept. vocational rehab and they will test you for FREE. And yes, if you feel comfortable doing so, then go to your supervisor/hr mgr and see if they can help you out.