Let’s dissect this.

A flexible arrival time is the most important accommodation for me, as I would be liable to get fired for tardiness otherwise. I am often late, as it’s difficult for me to wake up in the morning and get going. It’s like it takes my brain longer than others to reboot. I also may take a sedating medication to assist with sleep, which can make it so I don’t even hear my alarm blaring for half an hour.

On the other hand, I already have my own office with a closing door, which is huge for my ADHD. I also have discretion over my schedule and over which tasks I complete first, so I’m able to work on what I’m able to focus on.

As far as my delusional disorder, having the flexibility to prioritize my counseling and psychiatry appointments in my schedule is paramount. Not to mention, the ability to access the medications I need, including Adderall. This may require occasional daytime appointments due to the classification of the substance (more doctor interaction is legally required than for other psychotropic medications). Counseling after work hours is a unicorn.

Having the balls to ask for an ADA accommodation at work for an unseen and not-well-understood disability became a reality when I was looking at getting fired otherwise. I would suggest that it is wiser to move forward with an accommodation request before waiting until it’s clear you need it.

The Job Accommodation Network helped me to describe my needs with authority. I think it does a good job of doing the talking for you with a boss. Here is the link: https://askjan.org/disabilities/Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder-AD-HD.cfm

“AD/HD predominantly inattentive type: The major characteristics are distractibility, organization problems, failure to give close attention to details, difficulty processing information quickly and accurately, and difficulty following through with instructions.”

Ouch.

For me, it took ten years of professional work experience to understand what my optimal accommodation requests are. I hope my knowledge here spares you the embarrassment of poor work performance due to psychiatric disability.