DYSLEXIA IN THE WORKPLACE

INTRODUCTION

•The Situation

•The social and emotional impact

•The Solutions

THE SITUATION

• The modern work environment

• Workplace poorly informed

CATEGORIES OF DYSLEXIA

The Candid

The Closet

The Confused

SOCIAL IMPACT

• The fast-paced corporate world• A lifetime of failure

IMPACT ON CAREER CHOICE

• Unskilled jobs

• Employment changes

• Barriers to promotion

• The art of concealment

EMOTIONAL IMPACT

IMPACT IN THE WORKPLACE

• “What stopped me ever liking the job was because I was not there because I wanted to be there: I was there because I couldn’t choose the job I wanted” (Martin)

• “Get anything that paid money, whether it was cleaning or anything. Just do it and get a job” (Gill)

• “Jealousy. I could do the job what technicians were doing, 9 out of 10 times I was doing their job but I didn’t have the paperwork to say I could do it” (Adrian)

• “ It is sometimes hard to get them [employers] to understand why you can’t do it. That is quite a problem” (Susan)

SOLUTIONS

A Paradigm shift Relief

A THREE-PRONGED ATTACK

Learning Strategie

sUp-

skilling Negation

SUCCESS

EMPLOYERS

•An inclusive workplace

•Training

•Literacy programs

THE GIFTS OF DYSLEXIA

Intuitive ,muti-

dimensional thought

Picture thinkin

g

PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE

•Workspaces

• Organisation

• Technical support

CONCLUSION

‘As individuals and as institutions, we need to be open to the idea

that sometimes, to find our way in a time of crisis, we will have to

turn to someone who had been at the bottom of the class’

Thomas G West

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• Davis, R.D. (1997). The gift of dyslexia. Burlingame, CA: Ability Workshop.• Dymock, S., & Nicholson, T. (2013). Dyslexia Decoded: what it is, what it isn’t and what you can do about it. Hamilton,

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(2009). Adult dyslexia and the ‘conundrum of failure’. Disability & Society, 24, 785-797. DOI: 10.1080/09687590903160274

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• West, T.G. (2009). In the mind’s eye. (2nd ed.). New York: Prometheus Books.