"I can only imagine how different my school life might have been"
For Dyslexia Awareness Week, Chris Quickfall, who was diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult, offers 5 practical tips to help manage the cognitive difference in the workplace.
Dyslexia is a relatively common cognitive difference – according to the NHS, up to 1 in 10 people in the UK live with it – but it is still widely misunderstood.
Dyslexia affects how the brain processes visual and auditory information. This can make it difficult for people to learn through conventional methods. Organisational skills and memory of audio-visual data can also be impacted.
The dearth of knowledge about dyslexia has led to the cognitive difference – and those who have it – being stigmatised. Some people, for example, assume that dyslexia affects intelligence, because of the difficulty with verbal reasoning or learning. In reality, dyslexia has no impact on intelligence whatsoever. Such misinformation can fuel discrimination against applicants and alienate employees.