There are ways to manage ADHD symptoms on the job (c) sltrib.com

Daryl Wizelman was diagnosed at age 6 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD, when he couldn’t concentrate in class and teachers considered him hyperactive.

His pediatrician put him on medication, which he said was a “real life-changer.”

Fast forward a couple of decades. Wizelman starts his own company, but employees say he doesn’t seem to listen to them, rushing through meetings and showing little interest in their ideas. Again, his ADHD has come into play, and he struggles to find ways to take a childhood disorder and make it fit into a working world that expects top performers to be focused and organized.

More years pass. Wizelman now says he has learned to be more aware of the appropriate way to behave and even sees the positive aspects of his disorder.

“It gives me a lot of empathy toward other people with whatever struggles they may be facing. It teaches you to treat others how you want to be treated,” said Wizelman, a speaker and author from Calabasas, Calif.

Mental-health professionals estimate that 9 million adults in the United States have ADHD. Symptoms of ADHD and attention deficit disorder, also known as inattentive ADHD, include difficulty paying attention, easy distraction, trouble finishing paperwork, fidgeting, talking too much and procrastination.

All these issues can cause workers with the disorder a lot of problems at work, and possibly even get them fired.

Michele Novotni, a psychologist and coach who specializes in workers with ADHD, says the disorder is tremendously undiagnosed in adults because in the past it was viewed as only a childhood disorder.

Any adult not following through on work was simply seen as lazy, she said.