The following piece is by an adult client, Garry. With this article, he boldly brought dyslexia to the forefront of his workplace. Sadly, dyslexia is often accompanied by shame and poor self-esteem preventing folks from speaking up for some simple accommodations. By acknowledging dyslexia, Garry encouraged co-workers to get assistance they need and helped employers understand how common dyslexia is.

Dyslexia in the Workplace

by Garry Den-Beeman

A person that is born with dyslexia will always have it. If you were lucky in school, you had good teachers with knowledge of dyslexia and strategies to help you learn how to read and spell. If you were unlucky, like me, you were placed in classes that would not challenge you, or you were stuck in a class and labeled as lazy. With the right training, some can learn to be proficient with reading and spelling depending on the degree they are affected by dyslexia. About 1 out of 5 people are affected. That means, either you or somebody you know probably has dyslexia to some degree. It is a great unspoken condition, even in schools and the workplace today.

Dyslexia in the workplace can be challenging. Many companies do not give dyslexics accommodations even though it’s protected by the American Disabilities Act. On the flip side, many dyslexics feel shame and do not report their disability to their companies. Even in my own experience, I have run into negative bias because I was unable to spell correctly or fluently produce language in writing. There are many that do not understand dyslexia and assume that because a person cannot read fluently or spell correctly that the he or she is either slow or lazy.

Some strengths that dyslexics possess that companies can capitalize on are that they can see the “Big Picture”, which allows them to see the relational value of complex systems. Also, they have the innate ability to “Think outside the box” which enables them to come up with creative solutions to complex problems. People who have struggled with dyslexia also have learned to overcome obstacles through hard work and effort and possess the qualities of perseverance and fortitude. They bring these qualities into the work environment. Even though dyslexics have these innate abilities which make them valuable employees, employers can aid the employee by offering certain accommodations.

There are many accommodations that can help dyslexic employees reach their full potential. For example, text to speech and speech to text software (like Dragon) allows for an employee to quickly and accurately create and answer any correspondence and create reports and proposals. Also, extra time allotment for written correspondence is also helpful. Furthermore, a workspace available for times when the employee must use text to speech and speech to text software allows the employee to work without interfering with other personnel.

A note to anyone who may have dyslexia or any other learning disability, it is important that you have early conversations with your supervisors. This will help ensure that any negative biases will not be established, and accommodations can be addressed early.

What is Dyslexia

The International Dyslexia Association states:

Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language.
It varies in degrees of severity
It is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic.
It is a common learning issue that is a lifelong condition meaning that kids don’t outgrow dyslexia, but with the right support, key skills can improve.
There are many successful adults that have it
Researchers have been studying it for over a century.

What Dyslexia is Not

The International Dyslexia Association states:

A problem of intelligence. Individuals with dyslexia are just as smart as their peers.
A problem of vision. The core issue involves understanding how the sounds in words are represented by letters.
A problem of laziness. Kids with dyslexia are already trying hard. They need more help to make progress.
A problem that can be outgrown
Rare, in the United States dyslexia impacts 20% of our population
Dyslexics do not see letters backwards.

Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders with Dyslexia

G. Chris Anderson —
vice-chairman of PaineWebber
Terri Bowersock —
entrepreneur
Richard Branson —
founder, Virgin Corporation (airline, music)
John Chambers —
CEO, Cisco Systems
Barbara Corcoran —
business
William Doyle —
chairman, William Doyle Auction Galleries of New York
Fred Friendly —
former CBS News president
Malcolm Goodridge III —
senior vice president, American Express
Bill Hewlett —
co-founder of HP
Jo Malone —
CEO of Jo Malone Fragrances of London
Craig McCaw —
McCaw Cellular
David Murdock —
CEO, Dole Foods
Paul J. Orfalea —
founder and chairman, Kinko's copy shops
Evan Paul —
college student and entrepreneur
Horst Rechelbacher —
Founder of Aveda Corporation
Charles Schwab
Tommy Spaulding —
CEO of Up With People
Richard C. Strauss —
real-estate financier
Diane Swonk —
Bank One
Mark Torrance —
CEO, Musak Corporation
Russell Varian
Weyerhauser family
Donald Winkler —
CEO of Ford Motor Credit
William Wrigley, Jr.
Ingvar Kamprad —
founder of IKEA

Other Resources

Choose strength not shame: Ben Foss at TEDxSonomaCounty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs93inbQPU0

Adults with Dyslexia https://vimeo.com/294833621

How Cisco's Former CEO Turned A Secret 'Disability' Into His Greatest Strength https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2018/12/13/how-ciscos-former-ceo-turned-a-secret-disability-into-his-greatest-strength/#2911df8763ac

International Dyslexia Association www.interdys.org

Bright Solutions for Dyslexia https://www.dys-add.com/index.html

Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity www.dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexiastraighttalk.html