A controlled study of a simulated workplace laboratory for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Despite an extant literature documenting that adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for significant difficulties in the workplace, there is little documentation of the underlying factors associated with these impairments. The main aim of this study was to examine specific deficiencies associated with ADHD on workplace performance in a simulated workplace laboratory relative to controls. Participants were 56 non-medicated young adults with DSM-IV ADHD and 63 age and sex matched controls without ADHD. Participants spent 10 hours in a workplace simulation laboratory. Areas assessed included: 1) simulated tasks documented in a government report (SCANS) often required in workplace settings (taxing vigilance; planning; cooperation; attention to detail), 2)observer ratings, and 3)self-reports. Robust findings were found in the statistically significant differences on self-report of ADHD symptoms found between participants with ADHD and controls during all workplace tasks and periods of the workday. Task performance was found to be deficient in a small number of areas and there were few statistically significant differences identified by observer ratings. Symptoms reported by participants with ADHD in the simulation including internal restlessness, intolerance of boredom and difficulty maintaining vigilance were significant and could adversely impact workplace performance over the long-term.

Toward developing a simulated workplace laboratory for adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorders

“…Nonetheless, trained research observers rated HF-ASD participants to be significantly more hyperactive than ADHD participants and Controls in the late afternoon on the math, reading comprehension, and text editing tasks and significantly more inattentive than Controls during the early afternoon on the reading task (Figures 3 and 4). Contrary to our study hypothesis, participants with HF-ASD were 50% less likely to report symptoms of hyperactivity or inattention than participants with ADHD observed in our previous work simulation study using the same paradigm [13].…”

“…As previously reported [13], ADHD participants reported statistically significant elevated inattentive and hyperactive symptoms throughout all three simulation periods. In contrast, HF-ASD subjects did not report subjective elevations of inattentive and hyperactive ADHD symptoms (Figures 1 and 2).…”

“…Detailed methodology of the workplace simulation has been previously reported [13]. Briefly, the laboratory workplace was designed to simulate a full workday, with participants arriving at 8:30 a.m. and departing at 6:30 p.m.…”

“…Throughout the day, raters assessed the observable behaviors of the participants, including inattention, restlessness, and disruption. Raters received extensive training on specific criteria, as has been described previously [13]. In addition to observer ratings, participants were asked to complete a self-report rating scale measuring their internal experience after each task.…”

“…One approach to nonintrusive gain insight into the nature of workplace deficits in individuals with HF-ASD is through the use of a simulated laboratory workplace environment. Our group recently validated a full day laboratory workplace simulation for individuals with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and found robust differences in a number of key areas, including differences in self-report of ADHD symptoms in participants with ADHD and Controls during the simulated workday [13]. Because a large number of individuals with HF-ASD also suffer from ADHD [14], we posited that a similar experimental laboratory workplace paradigm could be informative to assess workplace deficits in individuals with HF-ASD.…”