Adult dyslexia : a guide for the workplace

In the workplace, dyslexia can be the root cause of under-performance that manifests itself in ways other than those typically associated with child dyslexics.

Adult Dyslexia gives practical advice about identifying and helping adult dyslexics in ways that are relevant to the workplace and suitable for adults, rather than being adaptations of methods used with children.
* Written by an experienced occupational psychologist
* Includes a practical question/answer section and screening tools
* Emphasises that dyslexics have strengths as well as weaknesses
* An invaluable tool for managers to help develop dyslexic employees

Author Notes

Gary Fitzgibbon and Brian O'Connor have varied and extensive experience of both advising organizations on adult dyslexia issues and providing assessment, counselling and training services toadult dyslexics.

About the Authors	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
1 Adult Dyslexia: Myths, Realities and Success	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Problems of Defining Dyslexia for the Workplace	p. 1
Appropriate and Inappropriate Approaches to Identifying Dyslexia	p. 4
How Schools Fail Dyslexic Children	p. 5
Factors Determining Educational Success for Dyslexics	p. 6
The Role of Ability in Overcoming Dyslexic Weaknesses	p. 6
How Children May Compensate for Failures in the School System	p. 6
How Learning Environments Influence Dyslexic Performance	p. 8
The Myth of the Dyslexic's Poor Literacy Skills	p. 8
How Schools Identify and Fail to Identify Dyslexic Children	p. 9
The Myth of the Dyslexic's Low Intelligence	p. 11
Why Successful Dyslexics Go Unnoticed	p. 12
Appropriate and Inappropriate Training for Adult Dyslexics	p. 13
Information Technology as a Solution to Literacy Weaknesses	p. 14
A Training Programme for Adult Dyslexics	p. 16
The Elusiveness of Adult Dyslexia	p. 17
Are Adult Dyslexics More Than Child Dyslexics Grown Up?	p. 18
Distinguishing Adult Dyslexia from Child Dyslexia	p. 20
What Determines Success in the Workplace for Dyslexics	p. 21
The Importance of Gaining Control	p. 22
2 How Society Can Disable or Empower Dyslexics	p. 25
Introduction	p. 25
Approaches to Understanding Disability	p. 25
The Effect of the Medical Model of Disability	p. 26
An Alternative to the Medical Model	p. 26
How Models of Disability Determine Life Experiences	p. 27
The Civil Rights Approach to Disability Politics	p. 28
The Origin and Persistence of the Medical Model of Dyslexia	p. 29
How Organisations Sometimes Disable Dyslexic Adults	p. 30
Why Organisations Fail to Support Dyslexics in the Workplace	p. 33
Differences Between Workplaces and Education Places	p. 34
Medicalising Dyslexia in Workplaces	p. 35
How to Improve Support for Adult Dyslexics at Work	p. 38
Who Should Advise Organisations on Adult Dyslexia Issues?	p. 39
Disability Issues in Europe	p. 41
3 Disability Anti-Discrimination Legislation	p. 45
Introduction	p. 45
Disability Anti-Discrimination Legislation in the United States of America	p. 46
Disability Anti-Discrimination Legislation in the United Kingdom	p. 47
Employers Not Covered by the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995	p. 50
When Disability Discrimination Is Justified	p. 50
The Responsibilities of Employers in the United Kingdom Under the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995	p. 51
Reasonable Adjustment: Concessions for Small Employers	p. 52
Burden of Proof Within the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995	p. 54
The Likelihood of Resolving Dyslexia Discrimination Cases out of Court	p. 56
A Timetable for Change in the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995	p. 56
Disability Anti-Discrimination Legislation in the European Union	p. 57
Imminent Changes to United Kingdom Disability Anti-Discrimination Legislation	p. 58
The Impact on Small Employers of Intended Legislation Changes in the United Kingdom	p. 59
Potential Disadvantages for Dyslexics of Government Failure to Educate Small Employers	p. 62
The Possible Effects of Reversing the Burden of Proof in Disability Anti-Discrimination Legislation	p. 62
Combating Malicious Allegations of Disability Discrimination	p. 63
How Small Employers Can Reduce the Likelihood of Litigation	p. 64
Grievance Procedures as Strategies for Avoiding Litigation	p. 65
Additional Changes in United Kingdom Legislation of Relevance to Adult Dyslexics	p. 66
Moving Towards Social Inclusion	p. 67
Is Disability Anti-Discrimination Legislation the Solution to Unfair Disability Discrimination?	p. 67
4 Dyslexics in the Workforce: Strengths, Weaknesses and Reasonable Adjustments	p. 69
Introduction	p. 69
Dyslexic Employees: Problems or Solutions?	p. 69
How Employment Attitudes and Practices Need to Change	p. 72
Dyslexia and Errors of Adjustment	p. 73
Identifying Reasonable Adjustments by Workplace Assessments	p. 76
Specialist Training as Reasonable Adjustment for Adult Dyslexics	p. 78
Supporting Dyslexic Workers by Improving Information Exchange	p. 80
Problems Associated with Open-Plan Workspaces	p. 87
Multiple Occupancy Workspaces	p. 91
Achieving Large Effects from Small Changes	p. 91
The Case for Making Proactive Adjustments for Dyslexics	p. 92
The Importance of Motivation in Dyslexic Work Success	p. 93
Factors Influencing the Retention of Dyslexics in Employment	p. 96
The Importance of Human-Resource Factors in the Workplace	p. 97
Avoiding Discrimination in Recruitment	p. 97
Avoiding Discrimination in Employment Selection	p. 98
Avoiding Discrimination in Psychometric Testing	p. 100
Avoiding Discrimination in Selection Interviews	p. 101
Making Induction Procedures Effective for Dyslexics	p. 103
Improving Professional Training Programmes for Dyslexics	p. 108
Avoiding Dyslexic Discrimination in Performance Appraisal	p. 111
Introducing Flexible Working Practices to Support Dyslexics	p. 113
Making Changes: A Note for Small Employers	p. 114
Taking Account of Primary and Secondary Dyslexic Weaknesses	p. 115
5 Managing Adult Dyslexia in the Workplace	p. 117
Introduction	p. 117
Identifying Dyslexia: The Manager's Role	p. 118
How Managers Can Identify Dyslexia in Their Workers	p. 119
Adult Dyslexia Screening	p. 119
A Dyslexia-Screening Procedure for the Workplace	p. 120
Understanding the Screening Procedure	p. 126
Making Decisions about Dyslexia Screening	p. 127
Dyslexia Screening: The Importance of Trust and Confidentiality	p. 128
Dyslexia Screening: Respecting the Individual's Rights	p. 129
Workplace Stress and Dyslexia: The Employer's Responsibilities	p. 129
The Damage Caused by Working Long Hours	p. 130
How Poor Relationships at Work Contribute to Stress	p. 131
Dyslexia as a Source of Stress in Non-Dyslexic Employees	p. 133
6 Counselling Adult Dyslexics	p. 137
Introduction	p. 137
Appropriate Counselling for Adult Dyslexics	p. 138
Counselling Adult Dyslexics: Perceptions, Falsehoods and Prejudices	p. 139
What Counsellors Can Achieve	p. 139
The Impact of Labelling on Adult Dyslexics	p. 140
How Dyslexic Self-Perceptions Determine Experiences	p. 141
Understanding Dyslexic Strengths and Weaknesses	p. 142
Secondary Dyslexic Symptoms: The Psychological Problems of Dyslexics	p. 143
The Complexity of Dyslexic Symptoms	p. 143
The Four Levels of Dyslexic Functioning: A Framework Determining Intervention	p. 144
The Characteristics of Dyslexics at the Four Levels	p. 145
The Importance of Informed Consent	p. 147
The Impact on the Individual of a Positive Dyslexia Diagnosis	p. 148
A Counselling Intervention Programme for Adult Dyslexics	p. 149
Methods of Collecting Data from Dyslexic Clients	p. 152
Some Important Specialist Counselling Skills	p. 153
Brief Intervention Counselling for Dyslexics	p. 154
Using the Internet for Dyslexic Counselling	p. 154
The Internet as Psychotherapy for Adult Dyslexics	p. 156
Appendix Useful Organisations	p. 159
References	p. 163
Index	p. 167

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Author Notes

Table of Contents