So far in this series, we have explored what dyspraxia is and it's impact on individuals, the three main components of dyspraxia, the ways in which dyspraxia can strengthen aspects of our day-to-day life, and we've dispelled common myths and misconception about dyspraxia.
I hope that the last four episodes have given you a basic foundation of knowledge about dyspraxia, and has triggered you to reflect on how dyspraxia presents in your day-to-day life; how you can support dyspraxic (and neurodivergent) colleagues, students and clients; and how we can challenge neurotypical systems and structures to enable them to become neurodiverse friendly (or even mindful!!).
One of my favourite dyspraxia quotes comes from Chris Gambon's blog, which explores what living with Dyspraxia means to them and others:
“I don’t ‘suffer with dyspraxia', I live with dyspraxia and suffer systems, policies and organisations that are not designed for those with dyspraxia”
Similar to the Dyslexic trade-offs, Dyspraxic individuals are often determined, persistent, hardworking and highly motivated. Because of this, many dyspraxic adults during higher education and in the workplace have also developed and created their own strategies to manage dyspraxia in the workplace.
I wholeheartedly acknowledge that the systems and structures are the ones that need to change, and not us. But whilst we are fighting for awareness and advocating for change, some of the strategies below can make navigating these systems (in the meantime) a little less boggy. Therefore, this episode is going to explore what strategies we can put in place to live with dyspraxia and make navigating neurotypical organisations, systems, policies and structures a little less heavy.
Strategies for navigating a neurotypical world (well workplace!)
As a dyspraxic social worker, I often encounter challenges due to the expectations of neurotypical managers, the organisational procedures which were designed by and for neurotypical colleagues, and the systems/structures designed by neurotypical leaders.
Therefore, I regularly get lost in new and unfamiliar places during visits as I haven't been given sufficient time to prepare (emotionally and practically). I can forget procedures as they are complex and were primarily known through word of mouth as opposed to being written accessibly. I am exhausted after supervision as I have to write a to-do list and instructions word for word just so I don’t forget something. I forget words and information in conversations, so I spend a lot of time explaining something well-known very badly and holding shame and embarrassment for this. I get flustered from the noise in the office when I am trying to concentrate on writing, or I am thinking. My clumsiness is the punchline of other people's jokes.
I have come up with several strategies to alleviate some of these challenges. And although all of our needs are different, I hope that at least one of these strategies will help you in your daily practice, or will inspire you to reflect on what strategies you have created yourself.
Some of these strategies include:
Using a dictaphone in supervision to compliment note taking.
Saying no when I am feeling overwhelmed.
Creating my own book of key policies and procedures.
creating little profiles for the children and families i am working with (with more personal information) to support my working memory.
Keeping theory flashcards close by.
Discussing dyspraxia with close colleagues and explaining making at what this looks like. Subsequently, letting my mask slip with people I trust.
Having a protected admin day where I can work from a space with no sensory distractions.
I joined the 'social work forum' in the local authority to discuss neurodiversity with senior managers (principle social worker etc). This helped increase awareness across the organisation and started critical discussions.
Asking for support, assistance or oversight when planning written work, my week or direct work.
Learning not to apologies for being neurodivergent, this has helped my confidence but also made colleagues reflect on how they have upheld norms that are harmful to the neurodivergent community.
Disrupting jokes or myths/misconceptions about neurodiversity or its 'symptoms'.
Setting boundaries (where possible) around being rushed as this can cause me to feel overwhelmed.
Advocating for adjustments in the introduction plan when starting a new job.
There are general self-help websites for managing dyspraxia in the workplace, however, I hope to offer four specific social work-specific tips for specific challenges encountered in daily social work practice.
Prepare for visits and know your surroundings
We are often told from the moment we start out Social Work degree that preparation for visits is vital. We are primarily told to get to know the family by reading each chronology, reading children and families views and wishes, finding out what support have they received in the past, what has worked for them, what hasn’t worked for them, what direct work did they prefer etc. This helps us when we visit children and families as we can ask informed questions and ask for their views and feelings, so they don't have to re-live past experiences. We can then begin to build relationships in a way that feels safe and comfortable for them.
However, we are rarely told or given time to prepare in personal and practical ways, ways that neurotypical managers and colleagues do not have to think or stress about. First and foremost, a guarantee of being a social worker is needing to and being able to navigate the community.
You need to understand the geography where you are working. For example, you need to know where you can take young people for a coffee, a walk, bowling or for a free gallery tour. You need to know where you are visiting a family and what local areas the family might interact with. You need to know where local services and schools are.
Although the system is not set up to allow us extra time to prepare in this way, it is important to stress the need for this protected preparation space in any reasonable adjustments or during supervision. Although it should not be our duty to, sometimes explaining why this protected time is needed can help a manager understand and rationalise this to their manager. Maybe even signpost them to episode one and two of this series.
I have worked in 3 different local areas and found myself flustered if I was visiting an area I had never been before. This meant that when I was with the family my emotions were not at their baseline, it was harder to retain information, I found loud noises and bright lights jarring, and I was exhausted. So, in order to give families as close to 100% of myself when visiting them, I learnt to geographically navigate myself before doing anything.
My top tips from learning to geographically navigate each place before a visiting a family or another organisation are:
Familiarise yourself with the location of the family home you are visiting. Use Google maps to find the route before you set out and use the satellite function to view the house. This might help you identify the house when you are driving and will ease anxiety about getting lost.
Additionally, use google maps to find parking before setting out on your visit. I have once found myself flustered on double yellow lines and no local car park, it was unnecessarily stressful and easily avoided.
Make a postcode map to help you understand the geography of the area. Additionally mapping popular places will help you visualise the local area professionals or families are talking about.
If you can, leave 5 minutes early so you have time to decompress from the journey before seeing anyone.
Have a trusted friend or colleague who can help you plan your journey or help you time manage your day around travelling.
Stating clearly to my manager that i can be anxious and flustered with travel times, so we can reflect on how this impacts the children and families I work with and how it impacts my practice.
Reflecting with my manager in supervision how they (and ideally the wider organisation) can support myself and other dyspraxic managers. In the charity sector, a senior manager and I create a postcode map of the support services that I could keep in my notebook when talking to children and families. This was then disseminated to allchildren social care staff.
Be multi-sensory
Dyspraxia is a neurological difference which impacts sensory processing. We are also usually non-linear thinkers, which affects ability our to follow sequences or steps in a process. Therefore, it is important to try and be multi-sensory in your approach to practice and learning to support information retention and understanding. To be more multi-sensory, you can:
Ask for information to be given through different mediums. Hearing information/instructions as well as seeing it or saying it out loud will increase your understanding and retention.
For example, if my manager explained a new process to me verbally, I can guarantee that by the time I go to my desk I will only remember fragments of the process. However, if I write it down, create a diagram with supporting information and ongoing support from an experienced colleague or manager, or make a very basic rhyme I will be clearer about the process and am more likely to retain the information. Moreover, creating a rhyme helps me remember the order of procedures, so i am less likely to miss something out as i am sing/hum the rhyme whilst I am doing it.
Moreover, as a newly qualified social worker, it was invaluable to have diagrams of safeguarding processes and support services provided by children services. Diagrams also assisted my explanations to children and families as they could see the information whilst we discussed it.
2. Use unusual triggers to support and trigger your memory. An unusual trigger can
code information into your body and support your memory retention.
In everyday life, I will sometimes sing information or trigger memory recall by singing a word. If i feel like something is on the tip of my tounge, getting it out in a tune can help my brain jump the hurdle and race to the finishing line. I always thought this was just a quirk that jogged my memory. However, this is a multi-sensory method of remembering information.
I try and bring this into my practice (which has been easier whilst working from home) by singing words when I hit a wall writing case notes, making a jingle of a support service names and role to increase memory, and using symbols (visual cues) in my written notes.
Template template template!!
I am an avid advocate for smart templates- they have supported myself and so many peers of my peers during practice and with learning. Because sensory processing impacts our ability to differentiate what information is important as what information is not, I use very broad templates to help trigger questions and relevant information. These template questions are around what I am seeing, what I am hearing and what information is already gathered. Therefore, I ensure that when writing referrals, assessments or case notes I have a template of questions which I can adapt and navigate according to the what the family wants and needs.
If I am visiting a family for the first time, very broad template question topics include themes or information from what I have read (chronologies, previous assessments, correspondence, and professional feedback), I might ask questions around the direct work or conversations with the child/family, and what the referral was about. With a bag of direct work tools to facilitate conversations and explore the questions with children and families.
If I have been working with a family for a little while, I may note questions to confirm or clarify what I have spoken to families and professionals about, I will note questions about what I have observed between people or what I have heard when visiting or observing.
It is important to not rely on a strict template and continuously add and adapt the template depending on who you are working with and what they need from working with you.
Do it, and then do it again
As a newly qualified social worker, I found I would often do something once and would not have the opportunity to do it again for another couple of months, for example, an AIM assessment. I found this hindered my learning as when I was asked to do a second assessment, I had not reinforced what I had learnt the first time. For me, practice and repetition helped reinforce my learning and increase my muscle memory.
Learning from this experience and after discussing it with my manager, I began asking colleagues for shadowing and collaborative opportunities for practices I had not done in a while. This increased my opportunity to reinforce learning and learn from experienced colleagues.
Next week, we will be examining some of the ways organisations and employers can change to become neurodiverse friendly. As an employer, it is important that you consider the way that your organisation is structured to support the neurotypical workforce and uphold neurotypical norms. This will enable you to challenge these norms and create a workplace that support neurodiversity and a thriving neurodiverse workforce.
Thank you for reading - please get in touch if you have any of your own strategies that you would like to share.
REMEMBER: labels describe symptoms and never describe people.
Comments