Abstract
ADHD experience issues related to focus and self-control, task steps and process, task initiation and execution, memory, and emotional and physical responses. An additional three themes include: workplace relationships with colleagues and students, coping mechanisms, and unique skills due to their ADHD. The findings indicate that while language teachers with ADHD experience various obstacles at work, they view their relationships with students positively. Further research is needed to investigate how ADHD might affect interpersonal relationships, classroom language teaching and, ultimately, students’ learning.
- Adamou, M., Arif, M., Asherson, P., Aw, T.-C., Bolea, B., Coghill, D., Guðjónsson, G., Halmøy, A., Hodgkins, P., Müller, U., Pitts, M., Trakoli, A., Williams, N., & Young, S. (2013). Occupational issues of adults with ADHD. BMC Psychiatry, 13(1), 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-13-59
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
- Ashinoff, B. K., & Abu-Akel, A. (2021). Hyperfocus: The forgotten frontier of attention. Psychological Research, 85(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01245-8
- Ayano, G., Demelash, S., Gizachew, Y., Tsegay, L., & Alati, R. (2023). The global prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: An umbrella review of meta-analyses. Journal of Affective Disorders, 339, 860–866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.071
- Baer, J. (2015). The importance of domain-specific expertise in creativity. Roeper Review, 37, 165–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2015.1047480
- Barkley, R. A. & Benton, C. (2022). Taking charge of adult ADHD: Proven strategies to succeed at work, at home, and in relationships. The Guilford Press.
- Bolt, D. (2015). The importance of disability research. Revista de La Facultad de Medicina, 63(3Sup), 11–12. https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v63n3sup.52718
- Bolt, D., & Penketh, C. (Eds.). (2016). Disability, avoidance, and the academy: Challenging resistance. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315717807
- Brattberg, G. (2006). PTSD and ADHD: Underlying factors in many cases of burnout. Stress and Health, 22, 305–313. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.1112
- Brown, N., Thompson, P., & Leigh, J. (2018). Making academia more accessible. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 6(2), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v6i2.348
- Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE.
- Cuervo-Rodríguez, K. A. & Castañeda-Trujillo, J. E. (2021). Dyslexic individuals’ narratives on their process of becoming English language teachers. HOW, 28(2), 79–96. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.28.2.621
- De Costa, P. I. (2025). Pedagogizing identity: Why it matters, and where do we go from here? RELC Journal, 56(1), 214–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882251321184
- Dolan, V. L. B. (2023). “…but if you tell anyone, I’ll deny we ever met”: The experiences of academics with invisible disabilities in the neoliberal university. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 36(4), 689–706. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2021.1885075
- Doshi, J. A., Hodgkins, P., Kahle, J., Sikirica, V., Cangelosi, M. J., Setyawan, J., Erder, M. H., & Neumann, P. J. (2012). Economic impact of childhood and adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the United States. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(10), 990–1002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2012.07.008
- Fuermaier, A. B. M., Tucha, L., Butzbach, M., Weisbrod, M., Aschenbrenner, S., & Tucha, O. (2021). ADHD at the workplace: ADHD symptoms, diagnostic status, and work-related functioning. Journal of Neural Transmission, 128(7), 1021–1031. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-021-02309-z
- Gillespie-Lynch, K., Kapp, S. K., Brooks, P. J., Pickens, J., & Schwartzman, B. (2017). Whose expertise is it? Evidence for autistic adults as critical autism experts. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 438. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00438
- Hallowell, E. M., & Ratey, J. J. (2021). ADHD 2.0: New science and essential strategies for thriving with distraction--from childhood through adulthood. Ballantine Books.
- Hilton, M. F., Scuffham, P. A., Sheridan, J., Cleary, C. M., Vecchio, N., & Whiteford, H. A. (2009). The association between mental disorders and productivity in treated and untreated employees. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 51(9), 996–1003. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181b2ea30
- Hupfeld, K. E., Abagis, T. R., & Shah, P. (2019). Living “in the zone”: Hyperfocus in adult ADHD. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 11(2), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-018-0272-y
- Jones, M., & Clark, G. (2024). Language teachers with ADHD: Self-efficacy and framings. Fremdsprachen Lehren und Lernen, 53(2), 106–119. https://doi.org/10.24053/FLuL-2024-0025
- Jones, M., & Noble, M. (2023). “What about teachers?”: A duoethnographic exploration of ADHD in ELT. Explorations in Teacher Development, 29(1), 34–45.
- Long, M. H. (1983). Native speaker/non-native speaker conversation and the negotiation of comprehensible input. Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 126–141. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/4.2.126
- Mueller, A. K., Fuermaier, A. B. M., Koerts, J., & Tucha, L. (2012). Stigma in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 4, 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-012-0085-3
- Muir, C., Dörnyei, Z., & Adolphs, S. (2021). Role models in language learning: Results of a large-scale international survey. Applied Linguistics, 42(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz056
- QSR. (2018). N-Vivo for Mac (12.7.0) [Computer software].
- Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). SAGE.
- Walker, N. (2021). Neuroqueer heresies: Notes on the neurodiversity paradigm, autistic empowerment, and postnormal possibilities. Autonomous Press.
- White, H. & Shah, P. (2006). Uninhibited imaginations: Creativity in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1121–1131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.007
- White, H. A., & Shah, P. (2011). Creative style and achievement in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(5), 673–677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.12.015
- Wood, R., & Happé, F. (2023). What are the views and experiences of autistic teachers? Findings from an online survey in the UK. Disability & Society, 38(1), 47–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2021.1916888
APA 7th edition
In-text citation: (Clark & Jones, 2026)
Reference: Clark, G., & Jones, M. (2026). Workplace experiences of language teachers with ADHD.
European Journal of Education & Language Review, 2(2), Article 4.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejelr/19337
AMA 10th edition
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Clark G, Jones M. Workplace experiences of language teachers with ADHD.
European Journal of Education & Language Review. 2026;2(2), 4.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejelr/19337
Chicago
In-text citation: (Clark and Jones, 2026)
Reference: Clark, Gretchen, and Marc Jones. "Workplace experiences of language teachers with ADHD".
European Journal of Education & Language Review 2026 2 no. 2 (2026): 4.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejelr/19337
Harvard
In-text citation: (Clark and Jones, 2026)
Reference: Clark, G., and Jones, M. (2026). Workplace experiences of language teachers with ADHD.
European Journal of Education & Language Review, 2(2), 4.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejelr/19337
MLA
In-text citation: (Clark and Jones, 2026)
Reference: Clark, Gretchen et al. "Workplace experiences of language teachers with ADHD".
European Journal of Education & Language Review, vol. 2, no. 2, 2026, 4.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejelr/19337
Vancouver
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Clark G, Jones M. Workplace experiences of language teachers with ADHD. European Journal of Education & Language Review. 2026;2(2):4.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejelr/19337