Warning at work - do you tell them your dyslexic?

ganderson1804

deannatrois wrote: »

I'm wondering why he left the two other, responsible jobs and went into this type of job (admin) which is going to mainly use the skills that are more difficult for him.

I think you and he are going to have to go through his daily routine, figure out what is causing difficulties and see what can be done to help him.

I used to write an induction manual for every job I had (if there wasn't one already, or improve what was there). Helped me figure out how to do what I had to do in the most efficient way possible. Lol I always started off as admin and ended up office manager!

Re the grammar/spelling mistakes. I'm afraid this is where the differences between attitudes at college and work are going to tell. At college, they'd not make such a big deal about them because of the dyslexia, but at work - they are going to be worried about the impression made upon the recipient of the document who won't know the sender has dyslexia. It's a hard one to overcome. How has he in the past? Would making a list of words he can mispell help or would coloured filters help?

To be honest I wondered the same but I think he was fed up of sales and that was all he knew. He wanted a 'career' and with little to no decent grades he thought office admin would be a good start.

Yes when he started I told him to use a notepad just for tasks etc and write down how things should be down and just it as a reference and to use another notepad for taking notes of everything he's being asked. I've suggested taking notes of the words he finds difficult so he has a quick reference. His handwriting is atrocious too which prob doesn't help matters.

[Deleted User]

I have a son with ASD including dyspraxia, sometimes have to think laterally to solve problems. Added to above post suggesting colour coding things. Might help.

Rather than 'writing' lists, could he use his phone or IPAD - this is what my son does. He can barely write which caused a lot of problems until we found this solution.

Believe it or not, my son has just written a very fine script for his college and is an actor. His log books are often the best in his year! His acting decision and ability can be difficult to understand given a certain lack of empathy. But he is very good.., somehow. He just needs to take a different approach sometimes. But he is totally determined to do it.

ganderson1804

deannatrois wrote: »

I have a son with ASD including dyspraxia, sometimes have to think laterally to solve problems. Added to above post suggesting colour coding things. Might help.

Rather than 'writing' lists, could he use his phone or IPAD - this is what my son does. He can barely write which caused a lot of problems until we found this solution.

That's a great idea about using an electronic device. I'm not sure how his employer would feel about him using an iPad or phone but he could certainly use a computer. He currently floats between 2 desks depending on who is on the job share days so doesn't have a fixed desk which I don't think helps things as he has to move everything around with him.

FBaby

If he completed college with flying colours and they know that, then I think saying now that he can't perform so well because of his dislexia is risking them thinking he is looking for excuses.

What it seems to me is that it might more of an issue with concentration. He might need a bit more time to go over things and ensure he isn't distracted when he does so.

He has nothing to lose at this stage and need to give 150%. He needs to look at the areas they said he needed to improve on and focus on these specifically when doing his day to day activities. He needs to show he is prepared to make every efforts to make improvements and take initiatives in doing so. There is no harm is asking a colleague very kindly if they would mind giving him just one minute to glance over what he has written for any mistakes. Everyone has weaknesses and strenghts and if his spelling is one of his weaknesses it is ok if he also has strengths that he can share back with his colleagues.

Angry_Bear

On a practical note, he could try a checklist.
Every time he makes a mistake or gets told to do something differently, he adds it to the checklist. Once he's done the task (say) 6 times without making that particular mistake he removes it from the checklist.
Then every time he does a task he goes through the checklist before passing it on as "finished".
Telling his employers that he's designed this to improve his own work will also help, and they should be supportive in giving him time to run through the checklist every time.

Tygermoth

As a dispraxic I have major issues with repeat tasks (admin) I do the same thing every day but will make mistakes.

So i do as the above poster suggested.

I have checklists for everything, and i mean everything!

It significantly dropped my error rate and helps me feel confident i have all the bases covered.

Raksha

At this early stage hes lucky to have been given a second chance. If the reasons he is struggling are due to his dislexia he should have told them right at the start of his employment

Indie_Kid

Ganderson1804 wrote: »

Yes you are right. He hasn't told them up to now as he didn't feel it was relevant and didn't want to be discriminated against by the judging him on it.

Under the Equalities Act 2010, (Dyslexia is a Learning Difficulity and he will be covered) they can't legally do this. My situation is different, (at time of working, I just had diagnosis of a visual impairment) but my manager did what they could to help me. It was just "I'm having problems with..." or "I need extra breaks..." (my visual impairment causes tiredness) and they would do everything they could do to help me. Sadly, it was only a temp job.

He should have, when diagnosed, been given a report? This should give recommendations for any support he may need. It would your brother and his employer if they can have a copy of the report.

Have you posted this on the Employment board?

Have they explained where he's actually going wrong and what they actually need from him?

My brother is dyslexic and dispraxic, has poor eye sight, is partially deaf. He's a lovely guy but socially a little awkward. Incredibly clever but not great at expressing/applying it.

My situation is a bit different (I'm hearing and sight impaired (not deaf) and have ASD) and one of my major problems is communication. I, like your brother, am not able to express myself that well. It's something I know is an issue; but I've tried to ignore for some time. After a misunderstanding with a friend, I felt I had no choice but to explain my situation. He told me that he used to teach Communication at A Level and said:

- the meaning of your communication is the response you get back and
- there's no failure; only feedback

henmuffin

Hi,
You can check out this site which gives advice on managing a disability at work. Employers are expected to make reasonable adjustments. I know people who have had special software to help with dyslexia such as Big Hand and Dragonspeak (I think).
https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers

Indie_Kid

Your brother (or you) needs to look into Access to Work. They can help provide software and any other help he may need.