Dyslexia in the workplace

We provide advice and support from our specialist team for employers and employees. each of our specialists has the necessary qualifications and experience to provide you with the help and advice that you need.

Whilst dyslexia is more often talked about within the context of education dyslexia is for life – dyslexic children become dyslexic adults. Typically dyslexic adults are of above average intelligence and great problem solvers, having learned to cope with their own challenges, they can make great employees. There are positive and negative aspects to dyslexia, often resulting in an uneven profile, which within certain contexts can be confusing for the adults with dyslexia and their employer.

Advantages of dyslexia 

The positive aspect of dyslexia from an employer’s point of view is that there are traits that when properly harnessed can be extremely beneficial to any business or workplace. Each adult with dyslexia is an individual and therefore the characteristics will be different however they might include the following:

• The ability to take an innovative and creative approach to tasks
• Excellent problem solving abilities
• Good communication skills
• Good dexterity and manual skills
• Good visual and spatial skills

When is dyslexia likely to become a problem?

Most adults with dyslexia manage the negative aspects and have created strategies that enable them to do their job effectively. However, in certain circumstances these strategies may not be as effective, such as:

• Changes in work duties, these can be minor or major changes for example new operational systems, use of new technology, changes in environment
• Changes in job role either through promotion or restructuring of departments etc
• Operational changes, such as a new line manager may also mean adjustments are necessary in order to overcome these challenges the employee with dyslexia will need to develop new strategies and/or adapt strategies they are already using, within the context of their job role.

What can an employer do?

The most important thing an employer can do is to develop an understanding of dyslexia, to have an open mind and treat each employee as an individual.

You can make a difference simply by changing the way you manage your employee with dyslexia, introducing reasonable adjustments, sometimes the simplest changes can make the greatest difference.

As an employer/ employee, how do I know what changes to make?

It is important that you obtain the right advice from a specialist trained to work with adults with dyslexia in the workplace. They will be able to help you and your employee to identify and clarify areas causing concern and suggest ways forwards; this may include diagnostics assessment, specialist skills based training, recommendations for reasonable adjustments within the workplace, and/or use of specialist technology. Recommendations will be made taking into account the feasibility of implementation within the organistaion and the process involved in the job role, while taking into consideration the impact of the individual’s differneces.

We offer a range of services for employers and employees, designed to meet your detailed requirements, delivered by qualified dyslexia specialist practitioners, these include:

• Initial consultation
• Dyslexia assessments
• Workplace skills development training and support
• Dyslexia Awareness Training Workshop

Not sure which service you need?

Each adult with dyslexia is a unique individual challenges. As you will have read elsewhere dyslexia manifests itself in different ways influenced by individual characteristics and the context within the workplace. If you are not sure what to do and which service would be the best for your circumstances, contact us so that we can provide you with the help and advice that you need.