Although Parkinson's Disease is progressive, it isn’t one of those you’ve-got-six-months-to-live situations. You have some time to tell your employer about your PD. On the other hand, you also want to choose the best time for your specific situation.

Consider the effects of these two scenarios:

• You rush in to your boss’s office within days of the diagnosis and announce that you have PD.
• You withhold the news until your symptoms become more difficult to control and begin to affect your performance.

In the first case, the danger lies in your employer (and co-workers) viewing you and your performance differently. Well before your PD symptoms have any effect on your ability, other people may perceive a problem and attribute it to your PD. Inadvertently you may be labeled (possibly passed over for a better position) because of other people’s misperceptions.

In the second scenario, you may think you’re controlling your symptoms, but your news comes as no surprise to your co-workers. If your boss has been aware of a change in your performance for some time, she may wonder why you took so long to come forward. Worse, if facial mask (lack of facial expression) is one of your symptoms, she may have interpreted that symptom as disinterest in your job or apathy.

Keep in mind that bosses can’t look at a situation in isolation. Employers must consider how your situation affects other people and, yes, ultimately, the bottom line. If safety is relevant to your position, your employer can’t put the company, you, or your co-workers at risk. And in this case, the bottom line isn’t about making a profit; it’s about security for you, your co-workers, and your families.