Dyslexia in the Workplace, by Diana Bartlett and Sylvia
Moody, Whurr Publishers, London, 2000. ISBN 1861561725 ($33.95, £19.50)
Most of the attention in writing about dyslexia
has been on dyslexic children in an educational context. The focus has been on
assessment and enhancement of their learning skills in mainstream classrooms.
It is refreshing to find two authors describing the difficulties experienced by
dyslexic adults at work, as well as outlining methods that can allow them to manage
their difficulties and achieve success.
The authors, who are both practitioners working with dyslexic adults, write from
different but complementary perspectives about the importance of proper assessment
(and the relief that usually flows from a diagnosis 'in black and white'), and
about the techniques that can be learned to deal with the clerical, message-taking,
report-writing and other language- and text-based procedures that come with almost
any job.
The emotional reactions to having
to struggle with a handicap like dyslexia are illustrated vividly with reports
from dyslexic adults describing how it feels to be working in such a challenging
context. 'Confusion and bewilderment', 'Embarrassment, shame and guilt', 'Frustration
and anger', 'Anxiety, fear and panic', 'Despondency', and 'Depression and despair'
are among the sub-headings describing reactions to what can be overwhelming demands.
Were it not for the precise explanations of how
to cope with the difficulties presented by working in offices (and other work
situations with similar tasks involving memory, spelling, planning and organisation),
all would be ‘doom and gloom! But far from it. The authors present step-by-step
guidance on each of the tasks encountered. One illustrative example is of a person
struggling to work through quantities of invoices all day. The task overwhelms
her and she is permanently behind with her work. She is then given advice about
putting colored columns and highlights on the sheet of dense figures she uses
for each invoice. This allows her to scan the figures far more easily and 'before
long, everyone else in the department had asked for a copy'. She then moved on
to re-organising her tasks so that, for example, she looked up the VAT on twenty
invoices all together, followed on to total all the twenty invoices, and so on,
until she had the satisfaction of a whole pile of completed work. Previously she
has worked on the various tasks for each invoice separately, constantly changing
tasks and making many errors. At the end of this re-organisation she could easily
complete her work in the time available, she was able to raise her level of accuracy,
and she experienced job satisfaction.
Work
strategies are outlined, showing how to break jobs down into smaller tasks, and
how to make use of visual and creative strengths. Management of time and tasks
by the use of diaries and calendars, making action lists, planning each day's
work, and organising the work space are explained with examples so that a dyslexic
person can begin to feel in control. The feeling of not being in control is what
leads to stress, and ways of reducing this are explained, such as relaxation
techniques, body language, assertiveness and the use of a form of self-help cognitive
therapy to restore an accurate perception of one's strengths and weaknesses.
Reading and remembering work documents is dealt
with in considerable detail. Techniques such as highlighting key words, making
associations to help memory, using visualisation and sound equipment are explained,
and recommendations made for using computer programs that can read text aloud
(e.g. TextHelp) or can type what you speak.
Employers' reactions to learning that one of their staff is dyslexic are frequently
mis-judged by the worker, who fears possible dismissal. It is often the case that
employers react in a sympathetic and helpful way. However, sympathy alone is not
sufficient to allow the dyslexic worker to be able to function satisfactorily.
The employer needs to be made aware of what it means to be dyslexic and what changes
can be made in the work environment and in working procedures that will allow
a dyslexic employee to operate at the same level as other non-dyslexic staff.
Guidelines for employers are listed, and reference is made to the useful Briefing
Paper 6 of the Employers' Forum on Disability.
This stimulating book provides an invaluable source of well-tested techniques
which will help any dyslexic adult to work more effectively, experience greater
job satisfaction, and escape the negative emotions and stress which the workplace
so often causes. No-one who works with with adults who are dyslexic should miss
the opportunity to read this book, and I would express the hope of the publication
of a further book outlining these same techniques, but in the form of a handbook
in non-justified text printed on off-white paper, which would be of tremendous
benefit to dyslexic adults at work.
John
Bradford
World of Dyslexia
www.dyslexia.info
References
TextHelp
Whurr
Publishers
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk