Dyslexia is a type of specific learning disability where a person demonstrates difficulty with spelling, word recognition and reading comprehension. People with dyslexia have difficulty with learning an association between a written letter or word, and the sounds required to say them. This concept is referred to as “phonological coding.”
Dyslexia is not linked to lower intellectual functioning and people with dyslexia often demonstrate better than average spatial skills. Dyslexia also has varying degrees of severity.
Symptoms and characteristics
Typical symptoms of dyslexia include:
- reading, spelling and written comprehension difficulties
- a dislike of reading books
- an avoidance of reading and writing tasks
- a better than average memory to compensate for writing
- being more creatively or mathematically inclined.
It is important to remember that people who experience difficulty with reading and writing may not necessarily have dyslexia. There may be other contributing factors such as: health issues, language barriers, disrupted education, or other disorders such as attention deficiency hyperactivity disorder.
For more information on some of these symptoms and characteristics, follow this link:
Statistics
Recent studies suggest that 15 to 20 per cent of the population has a reading disability. Of those people 85 per cent have dyslexia (International Dyslexia Association 2006).
Workplace adjustments and solutions
There are various factors that would greatly assist people with dyslexia to better manage in the workplace. These include providing support when necessary, for example, during situations of increased stress. This support may be in the form of accommodations such as:
- restructuring job tasks to minimise reading and writing
- allowing written materials to be accessed via alternative methods such as audio CD or a computer 'speaking' the information presented
- providing aids such as laptops with voice recognition software to minimse the need for handwriting and accurate spelling or the use of task picture boards rather than written words
- allowing for additional time for training or training to be presented in alternative methods.
References
Better Health Channel 2006, Dyslexia explained, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 1 March 2007, http://www.betterhealthchannel.com.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Dyslexia_explained?Open
The International Dyslexia Association 2006, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), The International Dyslexia Association, Baltimore, viewed 22 April 2007, http://www.interdys.org/servlet/compose?section_id=5&page_id=95