Workplace Adjustments Starter Pack
Find the words to ask for what helps you work.
A practical workbook for noticing one barrier, choosing an adjustment to explore and preparing a conversation.
This is practical workplace support, not a diagnosis, medical advice or legal advice. Examples are not guaranteed entitlements. A formal process may require relevant disclosure or information, depending on your circumstances and location.
1. One-page barrier map
Choose one recurring situation. Short notes are enough.
- Situation
- What task, setting or recurring moment are you noticing?
- Demand
- What is the work asking you to process, switch, tolerate or remember?
- Impact
- What becomes harder in the work, energy or recovery that follows?
- Existing strengths
- What already works when conditions are supportive?
- Conditions that help
- What changes the task by even 5%?
2. Six practical adjustments to explore
Written priorities
- Barrier
- After verbal or changing instructions, key priorities are easy to lose.
- Proposed change
- End meetings with a short written list of owner, deadline and priority.
- Assess usefulness
- Check whether follow-through and re-prioritising feel clearer.
Protected focus time
- Barrier
- Interruptions make detailed work take longer and increase re-entry cost.
- Proposed change
- Trial a defined focus block with one agreed route for urgent requests.
- Assess usefulness
- Compare completion, accuracy and recovery after the block.
Sensory environment
- Barrier
- Noise, light, movement or visual load reduces usable concentration.
- Proposed change
- Use a quieter place, suitable noise reduction or adjusted lighting where practical.
- Assess usefulness
- Notice concentration, energy and whether the option works for the role.
Meeting agendas
- Barrier
- Unstructured meetings create processing pressure and make preparation harder.
- Proposed change
- Receive an agenda or key questions in advance and record decisions afterwards.
- Assess usefulness
- Review participation, clarity of next steps and follow-through.
Task-switching buffers
- Barrier
- Back-to-back tasks or meetings leave no time to close one context before the next.
- Proposed change
- Add a short transition buffer or agree what moves when an urgent task arrives.
- Assess usefulness
- Assess whether errors, delay and end-of-day depletion change.
Predictable communication
- Barrier
- Last-minute changes and scattered channels make priorities uncertain.
- Proposed change
- Agree a consistent channel, advance notice where possible and a clear change summary.
- Assess usefulness
- Check whether changes are easier to process and act on.
3. Conversation template
When [situation], I find [specific difficulty]. I work best when [condition]. Could we try [change] for [period] and review [outcome]?
Keep the request specific and collaborative. You can ask what information a formal process needs rather than assuming you must share your full history.
4. Worked examples
Written priorities after meetings
“After meetings with several decisions, I lose track of which action is most urgent and spend time reconstructing the conversation. I work best when priorities are written down. Could we end each meeting with the owner, deadline and top priority in the shared notes for the next two weeks, then review whether follow-through is clearer?”
Protected planning time for a teacher
“After teaching and responding to pupils throughout the day, I struggle to plan accurately when preparation is interrupted. I work best with a protected planning block. Could we try a 45-minute block on Tuesday and Thursday, arranged around teaching responsibilities, for two weeks and review whether lesson preparation is more consistent?”
5. Two-week trial and review
Adjustment to try: ____________________
Trial dates: ____________________ to ____________________
- What would usefulness look like?
- What will I notice or measure?
- What needs adapting?
- When and with whom will I review?
6. A deeper picture, if useful
The Profile is a personalised, human-reviewed report exploring how your energy, stimulation, sensory environment, executive demands, communication, transitions and recovery interact. You can also read a complete sample Profile. It is not a diagnosis, and you decide whether to share any part of it.
For more context, see NeuroAdapt’s guides to sensory overload and focus and task switching.
The PDF is designed for printing or writing by hand.