Supporting Dyslexic Adults in Higher Education and the Workplace E-Book

Nicola Brunswick

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 533

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Supporting Dyslexic Adults provides practical advice in supporting dyslexic adults in education and employment, and guidance on the latest research

• Provides an important overview of current research and practice in supporting dyslexic adults in education and employment, deftly combining academic understanding with everyday issues
• Contributors possess a wealth of practical experience in the field which provides an indispensible guide to the subject
• Case studies are included to capture the immediate experiences of dyslexic adults in education and at work to highlight prevalent issues
• Offers practical advice to adults with dyslexia, from how to disclose their particular needs to employers and colleagues to legal aspects of dyslexia support
• Highlights to employers the particular skills and strengths that dyslexic adults can bring to the workplace

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Praise for Supporting Dyslexic Adults in Higher Education and the Workplace

Title page

Copyright page

About the Contributors

Acknowledgements

1 Dyslexia in UK Higher Education and Employment

What is Dyslexia?

Compensatory Strategies

Signs of Dyslexia in Adulthood

A Legal View of Dyslexia

An Overview of This Book

Section 1: Supporting Dyslexic Adults in Higher Education

2 Socio–Emotional Aspects of Dyslexia

Constitutive Aspects of Language

Different Ways of Understanding Dyslexia

The Experiences of Dyslexic People

The Social Model of Disability in Relation to Dyslexia

Conclusion

3 How Well Are Students with Specific Learning Difficulties Prepared for Higher Education? A case study of a pre-1992 university

Introduction

Our Study

Findings and Discussion

Conclusion

4 Screening for Specific Learning Difficulties in Higher Education

Introduction

Support in Higher Education

Screening in Higher Education

Experience at the University of Worcester

Meares–Irlen Syndrome

Research at the University of Worcester

Subsequent Developments

Value to the Assessor

Conclusions

Damage by Delay

5 The Complex Nature of Dyslexia Support in the Context of Widening Participation

What Do Dyslexia Support Tutors Do?

How Much Support Should a Student Be Given?

Why Dyslexia May not be the Only Issue of Concern

How Does Support Normally Work?

What Else Might be Needed?

The Spectrum of Difficulties: Some Examples

The Effects of Previous Education

How Subject Based Must Support Become?

But does Support Work in the Context of Widening Participation?

Other Forms of Help

6 Why Can’t I Learn? Metacognitive Strategy Instruction

Introduction

Operating the Teaching Framework

Writing Like an Expert

The ‘Language Detective’

7 Supporting Higher Education Students Who Are Dyslexic

The Current Higher Education Context in the UK

Dyslexia Assessment

Particular Issues for Dyslexic Students at University

Assistive Technology

UK Legislation

The Disability Discrimination Act (2005)

Reasons for Inclusive Teaching

Course Delivery

Writing for Tutors

Talking and Listening

Ways to Help Students with Their Personal Organization

Be Aware of Emotional Issues

Student Strategies

A University Policy about Dyslexia

The Future

Conclusion

8 Dyslexia Support at the Royal College of Art

Dyslexia Support Making a Difference to the Students

The Students Making a Difference to Dyslexia Support

Dyslexia and Drawing

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

9 Dyslexia, eLearning and eSkills

eLearning

eSkills

Ideas for Making Working Online Easier

10 Reading Comprehension in Adult Students with Dyslexia

Introduction

The Reading Process

Literacy Characteristics Related to Adult Dyslexia

Strategies for Success

Conclusion

11 Dyslexia Support at University and on Work Placement

The Specialist Role of the Dyslexia Support Tutor

Dyslexia Support Tutorials

Learning Profile

Diversity of Support

Embedding Information Technology

Procrastination and Perfectionism

Planning

Crossing Boundaries

Self-Esteem and Motivation

Dyslexia Support on Work Placement

Disclosure

Work Placement Strategies

Good Work Placement Practice

12 Preparing for Work

Transition Stages

What Happens to Dyslexic Graduates when they Leave University?

What are the Key Concerns of Dyslexic Undergraduate Students about Employment and Employability?

How should Higher Education Institutions Respond?

The Access to Employability Programme

How the Programme is Structured

Workshops

Work Placement

Placement Support

Evaluation of the Programme

Conclusions

Section 2: Supporting Dyslexic Adults in the Workplace

13 Disclosing Dyslexia

Introduction

Rationale

Instrumentation

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Future Research

14 Self-Disclosure in Adults with Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia

Introduction

The Importance of Self-Advocacy

Invisibility as the ‘Wild Card’

Studies in Self-Disclosure and Learning Disabilities

Stigma and Self-Disclosure

Self-Disclosure and Dyslexia in theUK

Connections between Two Models: Acceptable Loss/Potential Gain and Reframing

Acceptable Loss-Potential Gain

A Fresh Look at Reframing

Discussion

15 Dyslexia on the Defensive

Introduction

Resentment

Hostility

Cruelty

16 Achieving Success in the Workplace

Introduction

Dyslexia and Success

The Role of the Organization

The Workplace Assessment

Aspects of the Workplace Assessment

Good Practice

The Individual

Self-Advocacy

Conclusion

17 The Knowledge and Skills Required by a Specialist Tutor within the Field of Adult Support

Knowledge Required

The Principles of Adult Learning

Knowledge of the Context Surrounding the Learner

Working with People in Employment

Working with People Not in Employment

Literacy and Coping Strategies for Adults

Skills for the Specialist Teacher of Adults

Conclusion

18 Dyslexia and Disability Discrimination

Legislation Overview

Schools

Applying for a Statement of Special Educational Needs

Agreeing a Local Authority Statement

Implementation of a Statement

Disability Discrimination in Schools

Admissions Arrangements and Exclusions

Further Education

Higher Education

Employment

The Malcolm Case

Reasonable Adjustments

Identifying Reasonable Adjustments

Legal Implications

Time Limits

19 The Design and Development of the Sylexiad Typeface

Origins and Early Recommendations

Two Models of Legibility

Developmental Typeface Testing

The Dine Fonts and the Formative Stage of Research

The Sylexiad Fonts and the Summative Stage of Research

Findings and Analysis

Applications and Uses

20 Dyslexia and Creativity

Questioning and Challenging Conventions and Assumptions

Making Inventive Connections and Associating Things That are Not Usually Related

Envisaging What Might Be: Seeing Things in the Mind’s Eye

Trying Alternative and Fresh Approaches, Keeping Options Open

Reflecting Critically on Ideas, Actions and Outcomes

Persisting in the Face of Resistance

Intellectual Abilities

Knowledge

Styles of Thinking

Personality

Motivation

Environment

Conclusion

Index

Praise for Supporting Dyslexic Adults in Higher Education and the Workplace

Dyslexia is a lifelong condition and, depending on severity, it can have a negative impact on educational achievement and career prospects. The message of this book, however, is that, if managed well, dyslexia need not be a barrier to success. By bringing together experts on dyslexia in higher education and in the work place, the book signals a ‘coming of age’ of research and practice on dyslexia in adulthood. The book is not just about screening, assessment and examination arrangements but rather its scope is wide, covering support for learning, key transitions, preparation for the workplace and psychosocial aspects. Within the legal framework of the Disability Discrimination Act it also explores sensitive issues surrounding the disclosure of dyslexia in the work place, and the extent to which dyslexia support is also appropriate for people of lower ability who have poor levels of literacy. In bringing together best practice on the management of adults with dyslexia, this book provides much food for thought and will be an important reference for all those who work in the field.

Maggie Snowling, Professor of Psychology, University of York

This edition first published 2012

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brunswick, Nicola, 1970–

 Supporting dyslexic adults in higher education and the workplace / Nicola Brunswick.

p. cm.

 Includes index.

 ISBN 978-0-470-97479-7 (hardback) – ISBN 978-0-470-97478-0 (paper)

 ISBN 978-1-119-94499-7 (epdf)

 ISBN 978-1-119-94461-4 (epub)

 ISBN 978-1-119-94462-1 (mobi)

 1. Dyslexics–Education (Higher)–Great Britain. 2. Dyslexics–Employment–Great Britain. 3. Dyslexia–Great Britain. I. Title.

 LC4818.38.B76 2012

 371.91'44–dc23

2011043295

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

About the Contributors

Vikki Anderson (University of Birmingham, UK) is a dyslexia specialist who has worked in a number of schools, FE colleges and universities over the last 15 years.

Nicola Brunswick is a Senior Lecturer in psychology at Middlesex University, UK. She completed her PhD in the neuropsychology of dyslexia from the University of Warwick and her postdoctoral training at the Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience (University College London), the MRC Cognitive Development Unit (London) and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (UCL Medical School). She is a trustee of the British Dyslexia Association.

E.A. Draffan trained as a speech and language therapist before specializing in Assistive Technologies. She has worked with disabled students in further and higher education, set up an Assistive Technology Centre, and contributed to the work of TechDis. She is now a research fellow at the University of Southampton, UK, and has worked on the LexDis project.

John Everatt is a Professor of Education in the College of Education at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His work focuses on children and adults with educational problems, particularly those with literacy learning difficulties and dyslexia.

Rob Fidler is a disability advisor at the University of Surrey, UK, where he completed his PhD in 2009 on The Reading Comprehension Skills of Adult Students with Dyslexia.

Vivien Fraser retired from her post as Dyslexia Academic Co-ordinator at Middlesex University, UK, in August 2010. She now works on a freelance basis as a dyslexia consultant and tutor.

Paul J. Gerber is Professor of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Education in Richmond, USA. He is the Ruth Harris Professor of Dyslexia Studies in the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy. His research focuses on adults with learning disabilities, employment and life span issues.

Ruth Gwernan-Jones is a research fellow at the Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, UK. She recently completed her PhD looking at the experience of having difficulty learning to read and write, and how identifying oneself as dyslexic impacts this experience. She was a trustee of the British Dyslexia Association from 2006–2011.

Robert Hillier is a Senior Lecturer at Norwich University College of the Arts, UK. His practice and research as a designer is currently focused on Sylexiad, a series of typefaces he designed, tested and developed specifically for the adult dyslexic reader.

Bernadette Kirwan is an independent dyslexia consultant with Independent Dyslexia Consultants, London, UK. She trained in language and literature teaching, and in cognitive–behavioural coaching techniques. She specializes in working with adults, providing skill development, IT support and coaching to university students and dyslexic individuals in the workplace, and in providing advice to employers.

Morag Kiziewicz is a creative dyslexic individual whose first career as an environmental designer led to her second career as course director of spatial design. Her research into the development of spatial ability led her to the connection with dyslexia, which in turn led to 12 years, before retirement, developing and managing learning support provision at the University of Bath, UK.

Carol Leather is an independent dyslexia consultant with Independent Dyslexia Consultants, London, UK. She provides advice and coaching to dyslexic adults in the workplace and to their employers. She conducts workplace skills sessions and workplace assessments, and advises on provision of services, policy and reasonable adjustments. She also works with students in further and higher education.

John Mackenzie is a Discrimination Law and Employment Law Consultant, in Henley-on-Thames, UK, registered by the Ministry of Justice. He is a leading expert in dyslexia discrimination and has conducted landmark cases in this area of disability. He is a trustee of the British Dyslexia Association.

Margaret Malpas is Chair of Trustees of the British Dyslexia Association, UK. Her background is in personnel and training and she has developed a series of workshops for parents, teachers and employers. These cover issues relating to raising dyslexia awareness, dyslexia screening, and making reasonable adjustments to enable dyslexic people to succeed in education and work.

Alan Martin is Head of the Psychology Department at the University of Buckingham, UK. He is a chartered psychologist whose research interests include dyslexia in adults, both in terms of adults’ experiences in the workplace and the assessment of adults, and other areas of education such as children’s understanding of science and emotion detection.

David McLoughlin is an educational and occupational psychologist who provides diagnostic assessments to dyslexic people of all ages. He also provides career guidance for adolescents and adults. He is a visiting professor at the University of Buckingham, UK, and has acted as an adviser to the British Dyslexia Association.

Richard Mendez is the Work-related Learning Manager at the University of Leicester, UK. His remit includes teaching and assessment input on employability-hybrid modules within various academic departments across the university. He is also the Programme Director for the award-winning ‘Access to Employability’, an employability training programme for students with disabilities.

Sylvia Moody is a clinical psychologist who specializes in adult dyslexia assessment. She runs the Dyslexia Assessment Service in London, UK, and has written books for dyslexic teenagers, students and people in employment.

Sarah Nichols works as an assessor and specialist academic support tutor for students with specific learning difficulties, both privately and at the University of Worcester, UK. She has worked in special education since 1975.

Sue Onens is a dyslexia specialist and tutor who has worked in a number of schools, FE colleges and universities over the last 15 years, including the University of Birmingham, UK.

David Pollak retired in 2009. Prior to this he was Principal Lecturer in Learning Support at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. His PhD explored the life histories of undergraduate students with dyslexia. He continues to do some work, post-retirement, as a supervisor and examiner.

Geraldine Price retired in 2011. Prior to this she was a Lecturer at Southampton University, UK. She set up Dyslexia Services for the University in 1993 and was course director for the MSc in SpLD, training teachers to AMBDA standard. She was a Director of PATOSS, a member of the BDA accreditation board, and of Sir Jim Rose’s Expert Advisory Group which looked into dyslexia provision in schools. She took part in the SpLD/Dyslexia Trust work to develop competency scales for specialist teachers, and she is the author of the popular study skills book ‘Effective Study Skills’.

Lynda A. Price is Associate Professor of Special Education at Temple University’s College of Education in Philadelphia, USA. Her research interests centre on international issues about dyslexia, along with the employment, transition, and psychosocial issues of adults with learning disabilities.

Qona Rankin is Dyslexia Co-ordinator at the Royal College of Art, London, UK, and has been since 2002 when the post was created. She has degrees in Three-dimensional Design and in Design Education. Before retraining in Adult Dyslexia Support in 1997, she was a senior lecturer in Product Design and a freelance jewellery designer–maker.

Rosanne Rieley is a careers advisor who works as part of the Student Support and Development Team at the University of Leicester, UK.

Pauline Sumner is a Senior Lecturer, Dyslexia/SpLD Co-ordinator and Dyslexia/SpLD support tutor at Middlesex University in North London, UK.

Fiona White is a study adviser who works in the AccessAbility Centre at the University of Leicester, UK. Her duties include screening for dyslexia, providing one-to-one study support for dyslexic students, and negotiating and arranging reasonable adjustments for these students.

Acknowledgements

My greatest debt of thanks must of course go to all the authors who kindly contributed chapters for this book. The many examples of good practice they describe have been an inspiration to me, and I’m sure they will be to many others. I also thank them for their patience during the production of this book – they have been unfailingly generous with their time and goodwill.

My thanks also go to Karen Shield, my editor at Wiley-Blackwell, who has been helpful and supportive throughout the editorial process; to my colleague Dr Neil Martin, who has once again provided helpful feedback on my writing; to two anonymous reviewers whose positive comments on the original proposal for this book helped to set this process in motion; to Jon Galliers for his ongoing help, support and encouragement, and last but not least, to Daniel who I very much look forward to meeting.

Nicola Brunswick

London, June 2011

1

Dyslexia in UK Higher Education and Employment

An Introduction and Overview

Nicola Brunswick

Middlesex University, UK

The number of dyslexic students entering higher education has increased over the last few years as a result of government efforts to widen access and participation. These efforts include the introduction of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act, which makes it unlawful for higher education institutions to:

discriminate against a disabled person1 [i.e. to treat him less favourably because of his disability] in the arrangements it makes for determining admissions to the institution; in the terms on which it offers to admit him to the institution; or by refusing or deliberately omitting to accept an application for his admission to the institution.

(Department for Education and Skills2001, Section 28R (1))

Between the years 2000 and 2004, spanning the introduction of this Act, figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that the number of dyslexic students entering university increased by almost 100% (Higher Education Statistics Agency 2006) although the actual numbers are still fairly low at around 3.2% of all UK students (Higher Education Statistics Agency 2010). It is, of course, possible that this number underestimates the true figure, as around 43% of dyslexic students are identified as being dyslexic only after they have started at university (National Working Party on Dyslexia in Higher Education 1999).

However, gaining a place at university is only one step of the dyslexic adult’s journey. As Osborne (2003, p. 18) points out:

Improving access is one thing, but ensuring progression both within and beyond higher education is another

and evidence regarding the progression of dyslexic university students is mixed. While some researchers have suggested that dyslexic students are more likely than non-dyslexic students to withdraw from their studies during the first year (Richardson and Wydell 2003; Stampoltzis and Polychronopoulou 2008), others have shown that dyslexic students are just as likely to pass their first- and second-year exams and to progress through their studies as are non-dyslexic students of the same sex and age (McKendree and Snowling 2011).

For those dyslexic students who do complete their degree courses, their chances of graduating with either a first class degree or an upper second class degree are lower than those of their non-dyslexic peers. Figures of 41% versus 52% (National Working Party on Dyslexia in Higher Education 1999) and 44% versus 54% (Richardson and Wydell 2003) have been reported. These figures highlight the need for good, evidence-based dyslexia support to be provided to dyslexic students in higher education to give them the best possible chance of achieving completion rates and final degree results that are equivalent to those of non-dyslexic students.

Of course, the difficulties of dyslexic adults do not stop once they leave university, and the need for appropriate support continues into the workplace unless the individual chooses to enter a career that minimizes the need for reading and writing. For example, dyslexic adults who become teachers will face difficulties every day relating to their impaired literacy skills while those who become professional athletes are likely to face no such difficulties. This consideration may guide the career choices of many dyslexic readers. As Maughan and colleagues noted in their study of poor readers from adolescence to midlife:

At the time they entered the labour market, childhood poor readers were … much more likely to have obtained jobs with limited literacy demands.

(Maughan, Messer, Collishaw et al. 2009, p. 895)

An interesting study of the occupational choices of 365 adults with and without dyslexia was undertaken by Taylor and Walter (2003). In line with Maughan et al. (2009), they found that adults with dyslexia were less likely than those without dyslexia to work in science/computing, management or business/finance (with their heavy reliance on the written word), and more likely to enter ‘people-oriented professions’ such as sales or nursing.

The potentially large numbers of dyslexic nurses (although the actual figure is not known – Wright 2000), and the fact that around 80% of clinicians in the UK are nurses (Jasper 2002) has led to a large body of research being undertaken with this occupational group. Much of this research has focused on the difficulties that dyslexia might cause in terms of patient safety. Studies with dyslexic nurses, for example, have highlighted concerns regarding the ‘potential to confuse medical terminology or drug names’ (Wright 2000, p. 39) and the ‘presumed or potential risk to patient health and safety posed by dyslexia-induced performance error (e.g. problems with drug administration)’ (Millward et al. 2005, p. 341).

Such concerns lead some nurses not to disclose their dyslexia to their employer or colleagues for fear of discrimination and ridicule (Morris and Turnbull 2006). However, evidence suggests that such fears are largely ill-founded, and that, where appropriate support is provided, dyslexia poses no risk in terms of effective nursing practice (Wright 2000; Shepherd 2002; Millward et al. 2005), and no barrier to career progression (Morris and Turnbull 2007).

Once again, however, the provision of appropriate support depends on individuals disclosing their dyslexia to their employer and colleagues, and this disclosure being met with understanding of the nature of dyslexia and the strengths and difficulties that it can bring.

What Is Dyslexia?

Developmental dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that affects between 5 and 15% of speakers of English (Pennington 1991; Snowling 2008). It is characterized by problems with reading and spelling (the word ‘dyslexia’ comes from the Greek words dys – ‘impaired’, and lexis – ‘word’). However, it may be more accurately described as a collection of reading, spelling, naming, spoken language and memory difficulties. Combined, these difficulties render dyslexic readers relatively less able than non-dyslexic readers to do some of, or all, the following:

read and spell words quickly and accuratelyread and write passages of text without missing out words, losing their place, and becoming distracteddistinguish between similar-looking words such as with and which, lots and lost when reading and spellingcomprehend written material without considerable efforthold verbal information, such as telephone numbers, people’s names or directions, in short-term memorylearn sequences of things such as the months of the year, poetry, or times tablesrecognize common sounds in groups of spoken words, such as ‘sun, sea and sand’pronounce long words, such as parallelogram, quickly and accuratelydisplay a similar level of ability in their spoken and written work.

In around 30 to 50% of cases, dyslexia occurs with at least one other developmental disorder (Kaplan et al. 1998; McArthur et al. 2000; Kadesjö and Gillberg 2001). These disorders include problems such as poor handwriting, difficulty remembering numbers, and problems with balance and coordination, specifically:

impaired motor skills, balance and coordination (dyspraxia/developmental coordination disorder);poor hand–eye coordination, slow and messy handwriting, difficulty copying written text, and poor fine motor control of the hands (dysgraphia, although these symptoms might also reflect the fine motor difficulties of dyspraxia);poor concentration, inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder);difficulty with counting, performing mental arithmetic, understanding and applying mathematical concepts (dyscalculia);difficulty with processing visual information – individuals may experience visual stress (or glare) from reading black text against a white background, symptoms of fatigue when doing close work, and they may see printed letters that appear to move or float above the page (scotopic sensitivity syndrome or Meares–Irlen syndrome).

However, individuals differ in the severity of their reading difficulties just as non-dyslexic readers differ in their reading abilities. The specific difficulties of dyslexia may depend on factors such as family background (whether other close relatives also have dyslexia), educational experience (the level of support and specialist teaching provided), and the individual’s use of compensatory strategies.

Compensatory Strategies

Dyslexic readers can often apply skills, tactics or technical aids to help them cope with, or even hide, their reading difficulties (Lefly and Pennington 1991; Kirby et al. 2008; Logan 2009). Strategies might include avoiding situations in which reading or writing may be required; delegating to others tasks that involve reading and writing; using the spell-check and grammar-check facilities on a computer; using mind maps to organize ideas; having other people read through written work to check for errors; and recording lectures or meetings to avoid the need to take contemporaneous written notes.

However, even with the assistance of compensatory strategies, dyslexic readers often need to invest greater time and effort in order to complete a piece of work (that still may not reflect their actual ability). Furthermore, even the most seemingly-effective compensatory strategies are prone to break down under pressure, for example when the individual is required to read rapid subtitles on television, or to write quickly and accurately in front of other people (van der Leij, de Jong and Rijswijk-Prins 2001; Bartlett, Moody and Kindersley 2010).

Signs of Dyslexia in Adulthood

While dyslexia is often first identified in childhood, it is a lifelong difficulty. Some of the characteristic signs of the adult dyslexic reader are:

poor spellingslow readingpoor time management – often arriving late for appointments or missing them completelydifficulty taking down messages, especially if these involve strings of numbers, such as telephone numbersdifficulty with tasks that require sequencing, such as filing or looking up information in an alphabetized list or directorydifficulty concentrating in a noisy environment.

Individuals may also show low self-esteem, lack of confidence, anxiety and frustration, particularly if their reading difficulties have not been recognized or supported properly.

A Legal View of Dyslexia

Some people have challenged the view of dyslexia as a disability, preferring instead to describe it as a learning difference (see, for example, Griffin and Pollak 2009; Hendrickx 2010). The UK Equality Act (2010), however, is quite unequivocal: dyslexia is a disability representing a:

mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

(Office for Disability Issues,2010, Chapter 1, Section 6)

In this definition, ‘mental impairment’ specifically includes learning disabilities such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. The difficulties of dyslexia are more than a minor inconvenience – they either increase the time that might normally be required to perform an activity, or they prevent the performance of this activity altogether – and they last for at least 12 months. Finally, the activities affected include everyday aspects of life that depend on spoken and written language, memory and the ability to concentrate, learn or understand.

According to this legal definition, people with dyslexia cannot be discriminated against when they apply for or undertake educational courses or employment. This means that they cannot be denied a place on a course or an employment opportunity because of their dyslexia; neither can they be dismissed from a job or denied promotion because of their reading and writing difficulties. On the contrary, they are legally entitled to receive tailored support in the form of ‘reasonable adjustments’; these adjustments will remove barriers that might otherwise prevent these individuals from having equal training and employment opportunities with their non-dyslexic peers.

‘Reasonable Adjustments’ in Higher Education

The UK’s Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education requires that:

The delivery of programmes should take into account the needs of disabled people or, where appropriate, be adapted to accommodate their individual requirements …

(The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education,1999, Section 3, Precept 10)

The Code also states that:

Assessment and examination policies, practices and procedures should provide disabled students with the same opportunity as their peers to demonstrate the achievement of learning outcomes …

(Section 3, Precept 13)

The ‘individual requirements’ of dyslexic students can be met, and these students can be helped to demonstrate ‘the achievement of learning outcomes’, through the implementation of simple ‘reasonable adjustments’. These might include: encouraging dyslexic students to sit near the front of the lecture theatre so that they may see and hear as clearly as possible; providing comprehensive handouts and lecture notes (preferably before the lecture) rather than requiring students to make their own notes during lectures; encouraging students to ask questions whenever anything is unclear; developing methods of assessment that require minimum amounts of writing; and asking dyslexic students if there is anything else that might be done to assist them with their studies. These adjustments, and evidence for their efficacy, are discussed in much more detail in Section One of this book.

‘Reasonable Adjustments’ in the Workplace

Many of the strategies suitable for helping dyslexic students in higher education can also be adopted in the workplace. For example, dyslexia-friendly employers might (depending on the nature of the job): encourage dyslexic employees to intersperse periods of computer work with other activities; provide dyslexic employees who suffer from visual glare with an anti-glare screen filter whenever they need to use a computer; provide a quiet working space for their dyslexic employees, where this is possible, to minimize distractions; and encourage dyslexic employees to ask questions whenever they are unsure of something.

These strategies, and evidence of the beneficial effects that they can have on dyslexic adults in the workplace, are discussed in more detail in Section Two.

An Overview of This Book

The aim of this book is to provide an overview of current research and practice in supporting the needs of dyslexic adults in education and employment. It combines evidence and data from academic research with practical advice drawn from years of working with, and supporting, dyslexic adults. The book is divided into two sections, focusing on supporting dyslexic students in higher education and supporting dyslexic adults in the workplace. These sections are outlined below.

Section One: Supporting Dyslexic Students in Higher Education

This first section explores issues relating to dyslexic students in higher education. It considers how the policy, provision and practice of educational institutions are responding to the specific needs of these students. The main focus is on recognizing and identifying dyslexia in adulthood and providing practical support for dyslexic individuals, once identified, to help them to develop the skills necessary for higher-level study. Tailored support might be provided through the use of computer-based elearning materials, multimedia teaching materials, helping students to develop effective metacognitive strategies (i.e. teaching them how to learn) and considering alternative forms of assessment that are not so focused on the traditional written exam. The section ends by considering ways in which dyslexic adults might best be prepared to make the move from education into the workplace. Many examples of good practice have been provided by the chapter authors in this section. All these examples have been developed as a result of years of experience of providing support to dyslexic students in colleges and universities and, as the authors report, there is evidence for their efficacy in enhancing the teaching and learning of dyslexic students in these institutions (see also McLoughlin, Leather and Stringer 2002).

In Chapter 2, Ruth Gwernan-Jones considers the socio-emotional aspects of dyslexia. She looks at different views that people – dyslexic individuals, their parents, friends and teachers – hold about dyslexia, and how these views can impact upon the educational experiences and outcomes of dyslexic students. Many of the dyslexic students mentioned in this chapter describe a school background in which they were identified as being lazy and where they were frequently humiliated in front of their peers for their difficulties with reading and spelling. Yet it is how individuals perceive themselves (perceptions that are often shaped by positive attitudes of teachers, parents and employers) that determines how they make sense of their dyslexia; these perceptions either hold dyslexic adults back or spur them on to achieve their goals.

Vikki Anderson and Sue Onens (Chapter 3) explore how well prepared students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) are for making the transition from school or college through to the end of the first term of university. Initial interviews with these students revealed that most felt ‘fairly well prepared’, mostly by friends and family members, for study at university. In later interviews, however, most participants reported feeling shocked by the volume of work and the amount of independent learning that was expected of them at university and, with hindsight, several changed their earlier responses to indicate that they would have benefited from more preparation to help them through this period of transition.

In Chapter 4, Sarah Nichols discusses the merits and problems associated with measures that are commonly used to screen for dyslexia and other SpLDs in adults in higher education. She presents the results of an evaluation of a screening package that effectively and reliably identifies students who should be referred for a full dyslexia assessment. The sooner students are screened, and if necessary assessed, the sooner support can be provided to ease their progress into and through higher education.

Vivien Fraser’s chapter (Chapter 5) picks up on some of these issues by exploring the complex nature of dyslexia support at university, and the tools and strategies available for dyslexia support tutors to use. Specific examples are provided in the form of case studies of individual students who brought different strengths and weaknesses with them into higher education, and who were therefore able to engage with the process of learning support to a greater or lesser degree.

In Chapter 6, Geraldine Price considers ways in which dyslexic students can be taught to take control of their own learning through metacognitive strategy instruction. Students can be shown how to identify through experience which skills and strategies to use in any learning environment and how to evaluate the relative success of these strategies. In this way, dyslexic students may develop effective learning skills alongside improved self-confidence and self-regulation, which enable them to become independent learners.

In Chapter 7, David Pollak continues the theme of supporting dyslexic learners in higher education. He identifies the particular difficulties faced by dyslexic students and discusses assistive technology that can be used to alleviate these difficulties. Strategies that university tutors can use when planning their lectures, seminars, handouts and assignments are suggested, as are strategies that students can use to help them with reading, writing, note-taking, and writing examination answers.

Dyslexia support at the Royal College of Art is described by Qona Rankin in Chapter 8. This support includes the production of Mp3 recordings of tutorials; video recordings of practical demonstrations; the use of colour and space to help students to differentiate between different technical processes; the use of pictorial handouts; and small-group work in which all students have the opportunity to practise techniques they have just seen demonstrated. Qona also describes how the dyslexic art students themselves are identifying problems that they are experiencing in the classroom and the workplace, and using their unique abilities to solve these problems in creative ways.

The creative use of technology, including electronic learning and virtual learning environments, is described in Chapter 9 by E.A. Draffan. She explains how the presentation of materials online can be customized by the user to change background colour, font size and character spacing, and this material can be accompanied by podcasts, audio presentations, videos and links to further material. The importance of text-to-speech is also discussed, as are text magnification, the use of headings and subheadings, and clear contents tables or menus to enable individuals to navigate easily around large interactive files.

Chapter 10, by Rob Fidler and John Everatt, describes a study of the reading comprehension skills of dyslexic university students. Five interventions designed to improve comprehension were put in place and ability was assessed before and after the intervention. The most successful intervention strategies were those that involved the use of mind-mapping techniques and the writing of summary notes. These metacognitive strategies, which required the students to engage with the text and to think about its content, enabled the dyslexic students to spend longer reading and thinking about the material, and this improved their comprehension.

The final two chapters of Section One explore ways in which dyslexic adults at university can be supported and prepared for the world of work. In Chapter 11, Pauline Sumner outlines some of the different strategies used by specialist dyslexia support tutors during tutorials to boost students’ confidence and self-esteem. She also discusses issues pertinent to students who are about to embark on a work placement. These include disclosure about one’s dyslexia, workplace strategies, and good work placement practice; all of these can be discussed and rehearsed in the supportive environment of the one-to-one tutorial.

Finally, Fiona White, Richard Mendez and Rosanne Rieley from the University of Leicester consider how well dyslexic undergraduates make the transition into the workplace. Focus groups held with dyslexic students at different stages of their university education revealed that most – particularly those in their final year – were anxious about obtaining employment. Key to this anxiety was uncertainty regarding potential employers’ perceptions of their dyslexia and about how their dyslexia might prevent them from meeting the demands of the workplace. Following on from this study, the University set up an ‘Access to Employability’ programme designed to support students with dyslexia and other disabilities to make the transition from higher education into work. This programme is described in this chapter.

Section Two: Supporting Dyslexic Adults in the Workplace

The second section of this book considers ways in which the difficulties of dyslexia might affect the employment performance of dyslexic adults and how these might be overcome. Chapters in this section provide tips and strategies regarding how best to disclose dyslexia to employers and colleagues; how to increase self-confidence in the workplace; how to obtain reasonable adjustments; and a look at legal aspects of dyslexia support, including a summary of disability legislation as it applies to people with special educational needs. This section ends by highlighting the particular skills and strengths that dyslexic adults can bring to the workplace. Chapters in this section have been written by researchers and practitioners who have drawn on a wealth of experience in supporting and advising dyslexic adults in the workplace, and numerous examples of evidence-based practice are provided. Many chapters include case studies designed to capture the immediate experiences, good and bad, of dyslexic adults at work.

This section opens with a chapter by Alan Martin and David McLoughlin, who discuss the issue of disclosure in the workplace: when and how to disclose a learning difficulty to employers and colleagues, and why some people choose not to disclose at all. Results of a study tracking dyslexic alumni of the University of Buckingham revealed that fewer than 17% had disclosed details of their learning difficulties to their employers. The most common reasons given for non-disclosure were that individuals felt that their dyslexia was not relevant to their work and that they feared they would be discriminated against in the workplace. The chapter ends with advice for dyslexic people who do choose to disclose, focusing on when to say something, whom to tell and what to say.

Chapter 14, written by Paul Gerber and Lynda Price, continues this theme of self-disclosure by considering the contexts and circumstances that might persuade an individual to disclose his or her dyslexia to their employers and colleagues, and the reactions of others following disclosure. Paul and Lynda’s own research into disclosure is discussed in terms of risk management, i.e. the ‘acceptable loss’ and ‘potential gain’ that self-disclosure might bring for an individual.

In Chapter 15, Sylvia Moody presents a series of case studies to illustrate different situations in the workplace in which (i) an employee is aware of his or her difficulties but is not aware that these are the result of dyslexia; (ii) an employee is aware that he or she has dyslexia but fears that disclosing this to the employer will lead to discrimination; and (iii) an employee has disclosed his or her dyslexia to an employer but this disclosure has been met with a lack of sympathy, sometimes leading to hostility and bullying. Suggestions for bringing about a successful outcome in each of these cases are presented.

In order for dyslexic people to achieve success in the workplace they need self-understanding; to be working in a job in which they can use their strengths; to be able to use technological and creative solutions; and the support and understanding of their employer and colleagues. These issues are discussed in Chapter 16 by Carol Leather and Bernadette Kirwan. They consider ways of increasing awareness and understanding of dyslexia, of helping individuals to explore different ways of working to maximize their efficiency, and of developing skills of self-advocacy to increase dyslexic adults’ sense of control over their working lives and, ultimately, of their self-confidence.

Chapter 17, by Margaret Malpas, examines the skills and knowledge that specialist tutors need to coach and support dyslexic adults at work to help them to perform their jobs effectively. These skills include counselling skills; motivation skills; tact and diplomacy; knowledge of government funding available to pay for the introduction of reasonable adjustments; and knowledge of grievance and disciplinary procedures, as well as an understanding of equality legislation.

A detailed look at dyslexia and disability discrimination is provided by John Mackenzie in Chapter 18. He summarizes UK legislation as it applies to people with special educational needs throughout their education and in the workplace. John also describes the process whereby individuals bring claims against schools, universities and employers where they feel that they have been discriminated against because of their dyslexia. Examples of discrimination may include dyslexic employees being victimized or harassed, having appropriate support or reasonable adjustments withheld, being denied promotion or even being dismissed from their jobs.

In Chapter 19, Robert Hillier describes the process through which he designed and developed the Sylexiad typeface, specifically intended to help dyslexic adults to distinguish more easily between letters and words when reading printed text. As part of the development process, Sylexiad was tested against other ‘dyslexia-friendly’ fonts for its readability and legibility. Results showed that most dyslexic readers preferred the long ascenders and descenders, light letter weights and generous inter-word spacing of the Sylexiad font to the other fonts tested. Sylexiad has since been adopted by various institutions across the UK, and examples of its use are provided in this chapter.

Finally, in Chapter 20, Morag Kiziewicz presents evidence of some of the strengths that dyslexic adults can bring to the workplace. These strengths include creativity, persistence, adaptability and an ability to ‘think outside the box’. As long as dyslexic individuals are respected and valued for these strengths, they should have every opportunity to take their place in the workforce and be an asset to society.

The central aim of this book is to provide information and advice on supporting adults with dyslexia. Of course, much of what can be done applies across the age range and so there are areas of overlap across the two sections of this book. The UK Equality Act 2010, for example, is mentioned in both sections as it influences the way that dyslexic individuals are treated across the lifespan. Similarly, many examples of good practice apply in the university just as much as in the workplace.

A strength of this book is the wealth of practical experience possessed by its contributors. It includes chapters written by specialist dyslexia tutors and learning support tutors in colleges and universities, a speech and language therapist, independent dyslexia consultants and coaches, a clinical psychologist, a lawyer, a careers advisor, a disability advisor, and academic psychologists, educationalists and designers. The years of specialist experience encapsulated in the chapters of this book should help to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by dyslexic adults, whether these are students, clients, employees or colleagues, and of the role that we can all play in supporting and enabling them to meet these challenges in higher education and the workplace.

Note

1 See later in this chapter for a section on dyslexia and disability legislation.

References

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Section 1: Supporting Dyslexic Adults in Higher Education

2

Socio–Emotional Aspects of Dyslexia

We’re all in this Together

Ruth Gwernan-Jones

University of Exeter, UK

In this chapter I would like to give a flavour of the experience of being dyslexic, and how important other people’s attitudes toward dyslexic-type difficulties are to how well a dyslexic person is able to succeed, first at school/further education/higher education, and then at work. I discuss experiences in education at some length because it is during these years that dyslexic individuals often come to believe that they are not capable. Their work lives become a time when self-perceptions can change as the scope for non-writing-based activities widens and possibilities can expand for success (Dale and Taylor 2001). I would like to do more than share the perspectives of some dyslexic people, however; I would also like to share my own experiences, which have brought me to the realization that it is possible to impact dyslexic people negatively by viewing dyslexic-type difficulties as impairments. This is something that I have done for years whilst understanding myself to be an advocate for dyslexic people. I would like to offer other ‘understandings’ of dyslexia, the adoption of which enable conceptualisations that sustain positive self-perceptions and back constructive action for dyslexic adults.

My undergraduate degree is in psychology and my favourite module was called ‘Brain and behaviour’. It looked at modular theories of the brain, for example the kinds of relationships proposed by Paul Broca (1861) and Carl Wernicke (1874) where damage to specific areas of the brain resulted in impairment in speaking and understanding speech, and I found it absolutely fascinating. Fifteen years later, when my six-year-old son was identified as dyslexic, I began to read literature on dyslexia and was once again fascinated by theories about brain dysfunction and links to behaviour, this time in relation to developmental difficulties in learning to read and write. While completing a Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties, I enjoyed reading literature on cognitive psychology and neuropsychology and, when I decided to pursue a PhD, my first proposal involved comparing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans of fluent and non-fluent readers. My supervisor talked me out of this idea, persuading me that contributing to knowledge about the human aspects of dyslexia would be more beneficial, and I have recently completed a life history study of dyslexic adults instead (Gwernan-Jones 2011).

This change in attitude was initiated by my supervisor. However, my further development of change in attitude was the result of two things: a change in understanding about the nature of language and knowledge, and a response to the things I have read about or been told by dyslexic adults about their experiences. The first has influenced the way I have made sense of the latter; so I will begin by discussing constitutive aspects of language and finish the chapter by discussing the experiences of dyslexic adults.

Constitutive Aspects of Language

For my PhD thesis I wanted to explore the experience of dyslexia. My background is in science and psychology, where to develop knowledge one measures systematically. However, I wanted to develop knowledge about human experience, and this is not so easy to measure. During my MSc in Educational Research I was introduced to the idea of social constructionism, the belief that knowledge is constructed through relationships between human beings and their interaction with the world (Crotty 1998). Rather than ‘tree-ness’ being an inherent aspect of a tree, social constructionism would describe a person’s understanding of a tree as the result of what people have said to him or her about trees, and what his or her experiences with trees have been. A social constructionist understanding of ‘tree-ness’ makes it possible to see how, for example, a lumberjack and an environmentalist can hold very different, complex and possibly opposing attitudes and understandings about trees. It provides a way to take account of the meaning-making process that is involved in any aspect of human experience.

From this perspective, language and knowledge do not neutrally reflect the world, people and relationships but rather they play an integral part in creating them. Knowledge is an outcome of the way the world is categorized, it develops historically, is culturally-specific, is created and maintained by social processes and establishes what is normal and what is unthinkable, and so it has social consequences (Phillips and Jørgenson 2002).

In relation to dyslexia, my understanding and knowledge of it framed the way I thought about researching it. Before thinking about dyslexia from a social constructionist perspective, I prioritized its more measureable aspects, for example, attainment and/or ability scores, and cognitive measures such as phonological skills. It is not that I was unaware of social and emotional aspects of dyslexia – seeing the socio-emotional impact of dyslexia on my family was what spurred me to want to do research in order to address the negative effects I had witnessed. However, I had difficulty in knowing how I might address such issues. Perceptions and emotions are not easily instrumentalized, and measurable aspects were the only ones about which I believed knowledge could be established. This had the result of limiting the development of my knowledge and attitudes to a non-human focus. In effect I was valuing quantifiable aspects of dyslexia above experiential ones. Both these tendencies – narrowing issues of dyslexia to their measureable aspects and prioritizing these – can impact dyslexic people negatively, as will be discussed below. When I began to approach dyslexia from a social constructionist way of understanding knowledge, I was better able to take social and emotional impacts of dyslexia seriously because this concept frames these aspects as key, giving a structure for considering the human meaning-making process as important. What do people say about dyslexia? How does a dyslexic person feel about what is said? What kinds of frameworks are available for dyslexic people to understand themselves?

In addition to discussing constructionism, I have described the way adopting it enabled me to address questions of dyslexia in a new way to give an example of the way that language can be constitutive. I will now discuss the manner in which different ways of understanding dyslexia impact the way dyslexic individuals may perceive their own value and what they are capable of, and how they may act in response to these beliefs.

Different Ways of Understanding Dyslexia

My first acquaintance with dyslexia was in relation to my son’s identification. As a mother, dyslexia represented to me the possibility of a different approach to teaching reading and writing that meant my son would be able to learn. The cognitive aspects I read about explained how he could be intelligent and still have the difficulties he was having. I perceived dyslexia positively because it provided a structure from which to support my son educationally as well as a constructive way to understand his difficulties, that is, because it clarified that he was, indeed, intelligent and capable of learning. I realize now that this attitude is relatively common amongst parents (e.g. see Augur 1981; Riddick 2010). This way of understanding dyslexia was motivating to me and I responded with action; I paid for a specialist tutor for my son and I volunteered at his school to support him and other children with work recommended by his tutor and teachers. He was predicted to achieve ‘Working towards Level 1’ in his Key Stage 1 Standard Attainment Tests (SATs),1 but by the end of that year he reached ‘Level 1’, an improvement I attributed to his receiving more appropriate support. Once I became a specialist tutor I maintained this positive perspective about dyslexia, dismissing alternative views as uninformed.

However, as I began my PhD, I had to address the range of views about dyslexia. I began to appreciate the scope for differences in perceptions about what is meant by it, and correspondingly different actions in response to it. For example, Kerr (2001) reports a small, qualitative study about the perceptions held by providers of (what was then known as) Adult Basic Education about students who were identified as dyslexic:

‘Dyslexia’, respondents all agreed, if it is to be meaningful at all, is a neurological deficit, a miswiring of some kind somewhere in the brain. A miswiring is, par excellence and by definition, an innate and irremediable attribution of causation. Even if such miswiring were to exist, such an attribution is unavoidably maladaptive.

(Kerr2001, p. 84)

Kerr (2001, p. 83) also describes the teachers as responding to the students with learned helplessness, noting that:

A majority of respondents appeared to believe that for a ‘dyslexic’ the learning of literacy is so formidable and arduous a task that real victory is improbable. This relative hopelessness was, in many instances, sympathetically, but nonetheless clearly, transmitted to the student in question.

Here, ‘neurological’ (i.e. brain) deficit is interpreted to mean ‘there’s nothing to be done – the difficulties cannot be remediated’, and Kerr describes correspondingly negative changes to the teaching approach such that ‘wherever tuition was altered this was invariably a “dumbing-down” ’ (p. 83). This latter perception of dyslexia as an insurmountable brain deficit is related to less helpful belief systems and action in both non-dyslexic and dyslexic people, as will be shown further below.

The Experiences of Dyslexic People

I have described two opposing perspectives on dyslexia as neurological deficit: the first my own as a parent and then specialist teacher, the second that of practitioners teaching Adult Basic Education. But what of the perspectives of dyslexic people themselves? Research that examines the experience and emotions involved with being dyslexic is relatively rare. Most of the research carried out about dyslexia is from a professional perspective, for example that of educational psychologists, teachers, or cognitive psychologists. Predominance of professional perspective rather than first-hand experience in relation to wider disabilities is also common.

Academic Michael Oliver, a wheelchair user, describes his introduction to the academic literature about disability in the following way:

When I began to read some of the things that able-bodied academics, researchers and professionals had written about disability, I was staggered at how little it related to my own experience of disability or indeed, of most other disabled people I had come to know. Over the next few years it gradually began to dawn on me that if disabled people left it to others to write about disability, we would inevitably end up with inaccurate and distorted accounts of our experiences and inappropriate service provision and professional practices based upon these inaccuracies and distortion.

(Oliver1996, p. 9)

All those – employers, lecturers, academics, family members – who interact with dyslexic people would benefit from understanding their perspective, as indeed it is possible to offer inappropriate service provision and professional practices through lack of understanding. Below I discuss experiences of school to give background knowledge about how and why the socio-emotional issues that many dyslexic adults face develop. The way in which teachers’ attitudes to dyslexic people impact them positively or negatively in these extracts can be extrapolated to situations of higher education and/or employment for dyslexic adults.