Neurodiversity describes brain function variation in individuals, including Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Autism spectrum disorder. Neurodivergent individuals both experience challenges and exhibit strengths in the workplace. As an important disorder included under the neurodiversity term, an estimated 5.0% to 7.1% of the world population have ADHD. However, existing studies involving ADHD in the workplace are of general nature and do not focus on software engineering (SE) activities. To address this gap, we performed an exploratory qualitative case study on the experiences of people with ADHD working in SE. We find that people with ADHD struggle with several important SE-related activities, e.g., task organisation and estimation, attention to work, relation to others. Furthermore, they experience issues with physical and mental health. In terms of strengths, they exhibit, e.g., increased creative skills, perform well when solving puzzles, and have the capability to think ahead. Our findings align well with existing clinical ADHD research, and have important implications to SE practice.

翻译：神经多样性描述了包括注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）和自闭症谱系障碍在内的个体大脑功能差异。神经多样性个体在工作场所既面临挑战也展现出优势。作为神经多样性范畴内的重要障碍，全球估计有5.0%至7.1%的人口患有ADHD。然而，现有涉及职场ADHD的研究多为一般性探讨，未聚焦于软件工程（SE）活动。为填补这一空白，我们针对从事SE工作的ADHD人群开展了探索性定性案例研究。研究发现，ADHD患者在多项关键SE相关活动中存在困难，例如任务组织与评估、工作专注度及人际关系维护。此外，他们还面临身心健康问题。在优势方面，患者表现出增强的创造力、出色的解谜能力以及前瞻性思维。我们的发现与现有临床ADHD研究高度吻合，并对SE实践具有重要启示。