Myths about Cognitive Disabilities

Some employers are concerned about hiring people with cognitive disabilities, due to popular myths about this specific type of disability, for example:

• Myth: Children outgrow ADHD, so adults who claim to have ADHD are using this as an excuse for their behavior.
  
  Fact: About 70% to 80% of children with ADHD continue to have symptoms during their teen years. Approximately 70% continue to have symptoms into adulthood.

• Myth: People with mental retardation can’t function effectively in workplace environments.
  
  Fact: This is not true because mental retardation includes a broad range of intellectual functioning. With and often without direct supervision, an individual with mental retardation makes a very good, conscientious employee.

• Myth: People with learning disabilities cannot learn new skills, so to be successful they must find jobs where they can use their current skills.
  
  Fact: Having a learning disability means it will be more difficult to learn in the standard way, but that doesn’t mean that learning is impossible.

• Myth: People with learning disabilities just don’t try hard enough.
  
  Fact: Current research now shows that dyslexics’ brains work five times harder than the brain of a person without dyslexia.