DYSLEXIA
Neurodiversity 101
What is Dyselxia
Dyslexia which sometimes can also be called Development Dyslexia is a development condition that specifically affects literacy (reading, writing and spelling). People who have dyslexia have poor literacy after taking into account the education and teaching support they have had.
How Common Is Dyselxia?
It can be hard to be precise, as many studies don't look at people's history and therefore can't tell the difference between dyslexia, alexia (inability to read written material) and illiteracy due to lack of education. It is commonly stated that 10% of the population have dyslexia.
Common Challenges Described By Adults With Dyslexia
reluctance to share their condition to others - this could be for many reasons but usually related to past experiences when they have
difficulty in filling in forms especially if hand written
difficulty in reading quickly
taking longer to read documents
making spelling errors or missing out key words
difficulty in structuring writing
difficulty writing down information accurately whilst on the phone
Adults with dyslexia may also have other related challenges:
remembering things
finding their way around unfamiliar places
When you have met one person with dyselxia you have met one person...reasonable adjustments are not singular where one solution fits all. Reasonable adjustments are normally user led and can include:
templates for written work
providing written materials early to be read before meetings in a user friendly format
colour code and/or underline important text using an easy read font eg Arial
Encourage use of spell check, proof reading, and text to speech software to aid reading and writing
Check with someone is confident using software
use of coloured screen
if in doubt ask ask and ask again.
Everyone has strenghts and weaknesses, is about how we harness those strenghts to let the creative thinker out.