Talking to your employer about Parkinson's Disease

I was coming up on a year since diagnosis and the next Manager's meeting in Chicago was fast approaching.  Based on my symptoms and how much stress affected them now I was sure I wouldn't be able to get through the meeting without someone noticing.  I really didn't want to have to lie about any shaking, but that wasn't my biggest concern. When under stress, I was having great difficulty finding the right word and then stuttering trying to get it out.  While you can't really make your career at these Managers meetings you certainly could harm it.  As I continued to try and build recognition for my Plant, I didn't need to cast doubt about my leadership ability.  But, then I'm left with the cloud of doubt I mentioned in an earlier post.  If I tell them about my Parkinson's will Corporate be less inclined to help my plant grow as a trade-off for keeping my stress to a minimum?

I needed to talk to somebody that went through something similar.  Luckily for me I have a friend in Corporate that recently disclosed she has lupus.  I knew I could trust her to not only be honest but not to disclose what I was about to tell her.  Her advice?  Tell them!  She laid it out pretty easily for me:
1) I would be surprised at the support I would get
2) No one would feel sorry for me. 
3) I would have a lot less stress because I didn't have to hide my symptoms

I still wasn't sure so she gave me the name of the Executive she confided in to get his take.  Again, I would have to rely on him not to disclose anything until I was ready but trying it out on someone I looked up to would be just the practice I needed to tell everyone else.  So I arranged a meeting in Chicago with him.  What a relief it was to hear the confirmation of support I needed plus the promise not to disclose anything until I was ready.  It gave me the confidence to come back, tell my staff, my plant operations team and my boss.  I think most people would be surprised at the support they get and may not realize there is someone they can trust out there.  If you do share your diagnosis and don't get a positive reaction from your employer, would you really want to work there anyways?  I know every situation is different (just like this disease) and finding a new job with Parkinson's creates a whole other set of problems. I've recently discussed a situation with someone where it was NOT in their best interest to tell the employer.  Luckily my experience was like many I've read about, a good one.  You may fool them for a while, but eventually your employer is going to start noticing things.  It might be better for you to control the story.  Feel free to comment and get the discussion rolling!

Need more advice?  Look at these sources for their experiences.

Links to information on talking to your employer

Good article from ADPA on telling your employer here 

Excellent story by a neurologist that has Parkinson's disease  here

NY Times article mentioned in earlier post here

Michael J Fox Foundations advice here

Interesting article from about health on talking to your employer and coworkers here

NPF's advice on talking with your employer here

Working with Parkinson's here and here

Talking with your employer from the Parkinson's hub here

Trying to get a job when you already have Parkinson's here

Job accommodations  here


I've created a links page to accumulate interesting topics found regarding Parkinson's.  Just click on Useful links on the right column.

Up next:  Time to start medication... or not?