NHS LOTHIAN | STAFF NETWORKS
Disabled Employee Network (DEN)
Around 40% of the workforce have some form of impairment – some lesser and others higher – which can impact on their working and personal lives. The social model of disability sees the person first and argues that the barriers people face, in combination with their impairments, are what disables them.
The Disabled Employee Network (DEN) welcomes any member of NHS Lothian staff who identifies as disabled, neurodivergent, or with a long-term health condition. You don’t need a formal diagnosis, and you don’t need to disclose your condition to your line manager or to other DEN members.
The aim of DEN is to encourage contact, support and friendship among members of staff who self identify as having an impairment or disability, bringing together diverse staff from across NHS Lothian into an environment where issues of disability can be discussed in confidence and where advice and information can be sought. DEN will raise the profile of disability in NHS Lothian in a staff centred way. DEN will research best practice on workplace disability and will gather members’ experiences to better inform NHS Lothian on how best practice can benefit organisational goals and foster good employee relations.
Meetings
All meetings take place in our Teams channel. Contact us if you would like to receive the Teams invitation.
Next meeting:
Our next meeting is Thursday 21st November, 18.00-19.00. We’ll be discussing our plans for 2025.
Future meetings:
- 2025 meetings will be posted at a later date
DEN Chairs Blog
ADHD Awareness Month
by Jack Hellberg, DEN co-chair
October is about ADHD awareness, but many people with ADHD feel that it is not the whole story of their neurodivergence. Even for those who take medication, which can make some things easier to manage, there are other traits that leave lingering questions. Maybe you are particularly prone to becoming overstimulated, or paradoxically fall into periods where you are consumed by a single topic and yet cannot muster the focus to pursue it. Maybe you feel like you just have to get up and be active but, at the same time, cannot find the resources (or the spoons) to do so. For many people, ADHD answers some but not all of their questions about why they are the way they are. As our understanding of neurodivergence has rapidly changed, so too has the picture of the complex relationship between autism and ADHD.
Diagnostic recognition for ADHD and autism is a much more contemporary change than some might realise. It was not until the early 21st century where ADHD in adulthood gained widespread professional recognition. ADHD and autism were seen as mutually exclusive by practitioners until 2013. This left people with traits falling into both categories at a crossroads; which should they (or their practitioner) “pick” as a diagnostic label? For many, an ADHD diagnosis was the answer in order to access beneficial medication, but this naturally could leave them feeling that they still did not have an answer for many of their other differences.
Our understanding of the relationship between autism and ADHD today is in a transitional stage. 53-78% of diagnosed autistic people have some ADHD traits (Young et al., 2020), and 21% of people diagnosed with ADHD have some autistic traits (Hollingdale et al., 2020). While “traits” don’t necessarily cross the diagnostic thresholds to justify a second diagnosis, it is clear that co-occurring ADHD and autism is much more common than previously thought. However, many diagnostic pathways still stick strictly to one neurodivergence. In light of our growing understandings, single “neurodivergent” diagnostic pathways might be the answer. Additionally, the traits typically associated with ADHD and autism continue to overlap more and more. For example, social difficulties can now be seen as features of ADHD, and autistic people can have difficulty with focus, particularly at times of burnout.
Overall, the picture of ADHD and neurodivergence in general is rapidly changing. There are still common outdated and harmful beliefs about what ADHD looks like, and yet there is a lot of new evidence that might make us question our current understandings. What we currently classify as ADHD can present differently in different people with the same diversity that we see between any individuals. The important fact is that people with ADHD are complete and valuable members of our communities and workforce.
Contact Us
Contact us to be added to the mailing list and receive the Teams link.
