As the only neurodivergent member of staff working at Footsteps Nursery and Pre-school in Canwell, West Midlands, Mia Dale makes sure to educate her colleagues about how her ADHD affects her.
She was diagnosed with ADHD while working as an unqualified member of staff at the setting and half-way through her fifth attempt to complete her apprenticeship.
‘That diagnosis completely changed my life for the better,’ she says. ‘It gave me an understanding of myself.’
Dale was diagnosed with a severe form of the combined type of ADHD, which couples inattentiveness with hyperactivity or impulsiveness.
‘I'm a fun, loud, outgoing person who will always be dancing with the children, almost like that ADHD stereotype of a bubbly person, but there is a very dark side which people are less aware of,’ she says. ‘I don't want to be seen as lazy. I'm such a hard-working person. I am very academically strong and determined, it's just the motivation.’
Dale says her apprenticeship and diagnosis boosted her confidence
Footsteps Nursery and Pre-School, part of the Family First group, had suggested Dale pursue an apprenticeship with them after finding studying hard at school and university due to a struggle with motivation.
‘I've never struggled with actual work, but when studying I struggled with motivation,’ she explains. ‘If I didn't have someone nagging me, or a pressing deadline to meet, I just wouldn't do it. I was often told “you just don't want it enough”. But I did, I just couldn't physically get myself to do it.’
Strong support
Family First was able to offer the support of its dedicated training provider, Realise, to provide Dale with a consistent tutor throughout her apprenticeship, and responded immediately to her diagnosis to give tailored support to help her manage her ADHD.
‘My tutor really took the time to understand what I find overwhelming, and what pressure I need to have on me to make sure I get things done,’ Dale says.
‘Rather than give me 13 things to do at once, she'd give me three, so it was all in manageable chunks, but she also made sure the pressure was still on. She was always messaging me, checking in and asking whether I had done things yet. Nothing was too much for her.’
Working with colleagues
After Dale passed her apprenticeship with distinction, her manager put a care plan in place to explain her experience of the workplace to staff, and how they could help prevent challenges.
‘I didn't think I'd want to talk about it, but actually I want people to know,’ Dale says. ‘I see it as educating them. Colleagues are very honest that they didn't understand the extent to which my ADHD affected me. I am the only one in the setting with a neurodivergent diagnosis, and staff are learning something new every day, and are very open to that.’
Dale works on her observations off the nursery floor, in the office, to maintain her focus.
‘I can't physically switch off if I'm in the room, so I am allowed time out to get my observations done,’ she says. ‘My team knows how to make sure I don't get overwhelmed.’
With her diagnosis and her qualification under her belt, Dale's confidence has grown and she says she can see a bright future in early years.
‘Before my diagnosis, I was dead set on never moving up, becoming room leader or entering a management role, because it wasn't a milestone I felt I could set,’ she explains.
‘But now my ADHD is under control, I can set myself targets and meet them. Colleagues say they can see a positive change in me, that I'm more organised and happier. I do now feel that in the next few years I could push myself to be room leader. I have some self-doubt, and I'm still working on that side of me, but I do now look ahead to the future, and feel excited about what I can achieve.’
Katie Mason, Dale's manager, says the team have a good understanding of her needs.
‘Mia works really well with her team; it's a tight-knit group and they have a good understanding of her needs. She has become a lot more self-aware since diagnosis, and opens up more about what she finds challenging, but she is able to do that in a very safe space in her room, because of that support.
‘A big thing for Mia at the moment is that she doesn't want to come across as rude. I know she overthinks things and she's very conscious that she doesn't want to be misconstrued, so we are working on communication across the setting. I know that she is absolutely comfortable with her team, but if she were to cover in other rooms, it helps other staff members who don't usually work with her to understand a bit of her background. We would do that for a child with additional needs, so we are applying the same concept to the adults around the nursery.’
She adds, ‘About six months into her apprenticeship, Mia came to me and said she wanted to give up. We didn't want that, so we looked at how we could support her. She was working another job in the evenings and wasn't finding time to sit at home and get the work done, so we built in time for her to complete work at the setting. I staffed her out for a whole day every week, so she'd come in, stick her earphones in and focus.
‘Mia is great, and one of the most valuable members of our team. It would have been such a loss if she had given up her apprenticeship with us, especially as she passed with a distinction.’
Dale's colleagues have had her condition explained to them
the ADHD Foundation on neurodiverse employees
Lindsey Roberts, acting CEO of the ADHD Foundation, says, ‘With the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, we are all being challenged to “think differently”. This different thinking is now recognised in 20 per cent of the workforce who have, until now, remained largely invisible. One in five human beings displays different ways of thinking, finding expression in dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism, ADHD and dyspraxia.
‘Neurodiverse employees have been prevented from thriving, or completely overlooked, due to rigid ideas about what makes a good employee and strictly standardised work processes. Promoting an understanding of neurodiversity is not just about tapping into skills but also about supporting and developing colleagues. Talking about neurodiversity within your organisation can help all colleagues to identify and accept signs of cognitive differences. This can lead to fewer instances of misunderstandings, better performance and happier working environment for all.’
FURTHER INFORMATION
- ‘An employer's guide to ADHD in the workplace’ – www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/An-Employers-Guide-to-ADHD-in-the-Workplace-Scottish-ADHD-Coalition-1.pdf
- ‘Adjustments in the workplace for individuals with ADHD’ – https://adhduk.co.uk/reasonable-adjustments
- General information from The Brain Charity – www.thebraincharity.org.uk/condition/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder
