This post is a bit out of my comfort zone – it’s focussing on my opinion and reflections about the current 'hype' workplaces have joined in relation to understanding and promoting dyslexia in the workplace.
As a Dyslexic writer, I have worked had to write a piece that is clear and coherent – which has been a difficult endeavour as my passion can often make my thoughts less fluid and harder to mentally hold onto.
So, here we go.
Common misconceptions/myths about dyslexia, and a hyper focus on understanding how dyslexia impacts children’s learning has contributed to a lack of awareness and understanding of how dyslexia impact adults. However, it appears that this tide is currently changing.
Organisations such as the Dyslexia foundation and made by dyslexia are publishing reports about how dyslexia impact our life as adults. They are hosting blogs and forums to help people discuss their experiences and connect with peers.
An additional improvement is the availability of resources on how to make your workplace and recruitment process accessible to neurodivergent employees/candidates. Made By Dyslexia has joined forces with Sir Richard Branson to launch a campaign #DyslexicThinking, “which has enlisted major organisations to recognise “Dyslexic Thinking” as a celebrated term and valuable workplace skillset against an outdated narrative. It’s great to see someone with lived experience lead this march.
Because of these campaigns and the support they have gained from high-profile people such as Branson, it has been confirmed that ‘Dyslexic Thinking’ will be added to the dictionary. And LinkedIn members can now add “Dyslexic Thinking” as a skill on their LinkedIn Profile.
These are progressive steps, which are taking us forward and are raising the profile of neurodivergent employees.
Although the messages are moving away from myths and misconceptions - such as ‘Dyslexia impacts a person’s intelligence’, ‘Dyslexic employees don’t produce good work’, ‘Dyslexic people cannot spell or write’ - which have caused prejudice, discrimination, and stigma. The new messages about Dyslexic employees appear to hyper focus on how dyslexia can increase our value as employees through what work we can produce, how employers can make the most of our processing differences, and how we can be encouraged to squeeze in to fit into the neurotypical mould whilst our workplace take advantage of the skills and characteristics they have failed to support and recognise.
Now I don’t have the academic terminology for these reflections, and I have found myself in a Google rabbit hole to try and present it as nicely as possible for you – but this is how my neurodivergent brain can make sense of these reflections.
Although these messages are prompting organisations to consider how they can move away from neurotypical ‘norms’. These messages and our understanding of dyslexia are still focussing on a specific context (we have moved from children's education to the workplace). As opposed to helping us understand how dyslexia impacts our thinking and actions in our personal life.
Moreover, these messages do not promote radical change. They do not reinforce the message that neurotypical structures need to be dismantled and new structure created in collaboration with neurodivergent people, not just neurotypical ‘experts’. And radical change is needed.
These messages place our worth in what we can contribute to organisations. Some of the resources avaible discuss how and give tips on how employers can 'exploit' (for want of a better word) our neurodivergent strengths. As well as discussing how we can offset some of the downfalls of neurotypical employees. With a very clear message that our diversity will only be accepted if it meets the needs of that organisation.
However, they still do not get to the heart or the essence of what we have been shouting this whole time. Accept me for me. I do not want to be accepted on the condition that it must be of benifit to you.
I would like to see resources that just focus on the adaptions and changes that organisations can make to accomidate the whole neurodiverse spectum (from neurotypical to neurodivergent). I would like to see resources that dont 'sell' us based on our productivity.
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