hey Wiz ... it's me - your crazy wisconsinite bud ...

here's my thought: call the ADA in your area ... explain to them your situation - you will NOT lose your job or position because of your disability - and they can't 'blackball' you either ...

this is a NEW(sorta) program to help those with disability 'on the job' ...

you'll be fine ... you have been working ALOT ... I'm proud of you!! maybe, too much - but that's for you and your body to discover!!

you're a smart cookie ... call the ADA in your state ... best to you, my friend!

I am one of those people that tends to be late for work on a regular basis. I have a terrible habit of hitting snooze on my alarm instead of getting up when it goes off like I should. Do you do that too? I know it's a real issue for me that I have got to change. I don't know if it's something deeper...a lot of people I work with tend to be late too so we're not alone with this issue. I just don't like having to be on a set schedule in the morning but unfortunately I don't really have a choice in the matter

I think that it will be tough for a few months but if we work at it then I think we can both do better. I agree that it would be helpful to get up 15 to 30 minutes earlier each day and NOT HIT THAT SNOOZE BUTTON!

Good luck and I'm going to start trying to get a better morning routine as well!

Wiz - I think this must be some sort of cognitive thing. I used to never be late. Now, it's like I have no concept of time (like how much time has passed or my judgement of time is off) and am almost always late. It drives DDs crazy. It takes me about 1/2 hour tops to get ready to go anywhere, shower, hair, make-up, get dressed, etc. and I plan for that. But, I don't know what happens that I'm not "ready" when it's time to leave.

So, I don't have any ideas or suggestions because I seem to be having the same issue. I'll look at my neuropsych results and see if it says anything that would relate to this. I never put the two together until I saw your thread. I thought it was just something with me but now you have me thinking. If I find something, I'll let you know.

I would have to disagree with coming out with any disability type talk especially since it sounds like she is still able to do the rest of her job really well. Imo employers absolutely do blackball employees they feel are a liability or costing too much. There are so many ways to document performance failures that I wouldn't want to take any chances especially with something like this that has multiple, relatively painless solutions.

FWIW I just got the cost my health insurance is paying for my Copaxone and it was over $3,000 for the 3 month supply. I'm a very hard worker but no way am I worth an extra $12,000 a year which is what I am costing my employer thanks to MS.

What is making you late in the morning? What are your "rituals" for getting ready to leave the house?

I was thinking you can arrange your world to allow you to get up and be almost ready to get out the door.

Put your alarm on the other side of the room to force yourself to get out of bed in order to turn it off. Select your clothes in the evening and have them ready to wear. Same with make-up, breakfast.

All the morning tasks ready at night. Figure out how long it takes you to do the morning stuff and set the alarm for fifteen minutes more than you plan.

I think, deep down, you want to be fired..

While the ADA does require the employer to make reasonable accomodations, I seriously doubt that allowing one to arrive late to work on a regular basis would be viewed as reasonable.

I don't think I could do the irregular shifts that you work. I think that is part of the problem. However, since that is the nature of your job and you want to keep your job, you have to work around it.

I agree with making a list of everything you need to do to get ready. Time everything one day and put the time allowed down next to each item on the list. Then, you have a realistic idea of how much time you need. Then, add some padding to that and start getting ready at the appropriate time to be early (15 minutes or so). Finally, use a timer for each task on the list to keep from getting distracted.

I actually used to do this with my ADHD son to keep him focused on getting ready for the bus and also to get homework done.

Holly - A timer is a great idea! One that will beep at 5 minutes before time is up, 2 minutes, 1 minute or something like that. It would definitely help in tracking time.

Thanks everybody. I also have school on top of it. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to work on it and report back.