Publish date: 2 October 2023
Dyslexia Awareness Week 2023 takes place this week (between 2 and 8 October). We celebrate individuals with dyslexia from all backgrounds and walks of life.
Our Ability First network and Dyslexia and Dyspraxia staff network have pulled together some information around dyslexia, reasonable adjustment and the talents of those with dyslexia.
Dyslexia facts
- 1 in 10 people have dyslexia
- Dyslexia is for life – you don’t grow out of it
- There is no link to gender, background, ethnicity or intelligence
- It is a hidden disability and many people are undiagnosed.
Dyslexia myths
- People are only diagnosed in childhood
- Dyslexia is caused by not reading enough
- Coloured paper is the cure for dyslexia
- All dyslexic people have the same talents
- All dyslexic people find the same solutions helpful
- Dyslexia only brings challenges
What does dyslexia look like?
Everyone pictured below has dyslexia.
What is ableism?
Ableism is discrimination and social prejudice against people with a disability. Ableism classifies those with a disability as inferior to non-disabled people. It includes assumptions, stereotypes and physical barriers and placing different disabilities in a hierarchy. It is often unintentionaland most people are unaware of the impact of their words or actions.
Real life examples
"My cousin has dyslexia he can do his job without all this costly equipment” -assuming that people with dyslexia all have the same support needs.
“I can't spell today must be having a dyslexic moment” – said by someone who does not have dyslexia.
"Here is some green paper, my sister has green paper that will help you” – assuming that all people with dyslexia are the same.
"Dyslexia isn’t a proper disability, why do you need to go to access to work?” – seeing some disabilities as more worthy of support than others .
Talents
Those with dyslexia have talents that include:
- Empathetic
- Communication
- The ability to visualise
- Being able to see the big picture
- Creativity and the ability to think “outside the box”
- Good verbal communication
- High levels of motivation and persistence.
Challenges
They may face challenges, such as:
- Multi-tasking i.e. following a meeting while note-taking
- Low self-confidence
- Spelling and grammar accuracy
- Reading speed
- Sequencing of information
- Numeracy.
What is a reasonable adjustment?
- Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone's disability
- Reasonable adjustments are specific to an individual person and may need to change over time
- See HR27 policy, Reasonable Adjustments in the Workplace Training and Access to Work for more information.
Types of reasonable adjustment
- Speech to text and text to speech software
- Extra time to complete tasks
- Receiving information in different ways eg flowcharts
- Coloured paper or overlays
- Longer or more regular brakes
- Access to a quieter environment to complete some tasks.