9 minute read
Dyslexia
Working when you have dyslexia
Thousands of gas engineers are living with dyslexia, whether or not they’ve been formally diagnosed. Registered Gas Engineer talks to engineer Paul Hull, who says more needs to be done to help support them in their working lives.
Around 10 per cent of the UK population are believed to be dyslexic, according to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), but among gas engineers and tradespeople the percentage is thought to be significantly higher.
While no substantial research exists, anecdotal evidence suggests that at least 35 per cent of all tradespeople and construction workers may experience some level of dyslexia. That indicates that, of the 77,000 people who read this magazine every month, 26,600 could be dyslexic – even if they don’t realise it.
Dyslexia has always been under-diagnosed, and there may be thousands of people across the country who have been unable to access help or advice. There is now support in schools for children who need it, but it is thought that some people who struggled at school and so turned to the trades instead of more academic career paths could have been living with dyslexia without ever having been diagnosed.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a learning difference that affects the way people process information about the world around them. People who are dyslexic may have trouble understanding and remembering information they see and hear, which affects the way they learn as well as their reading and writing skills.
Dyslexia affects people from all backgrounds, and affects men and women equally. It is also believed that between 25 and 40 per cent of children with dyslexia may have some level of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism, as these disorders can often co-exist.
Although being dyslexic can make it more difficult for people to process written information, it does not mean they are less intelligent. In fact, Albert Einstein was dyslexic: he struggled with reading aloud, and did not start speaking comfortably until he was six years old.
Dyslexic people are visual thinkers and can be extremely creative because they find it easier to see patterns and identify trends. This is another reason why dyslexia is more commonly found in architects, entrepreneurs, scientists and construction workers, according to the BDA – they are careers that require a lot of creative thinking.
In his TedX Talk The Gifts of a Dyslexic Mind, NoticeAbility founder Dean Bragonier says: “[those with dyslexia] have an ability to look at a situation and identify seemingly disparate pieces of information and blend those into a narrative that most people can’t see […] this translates into an exceptional level of success in four major vocational paths, that’s entrepreneurship, engineering, architecture and the arts.”
Entrepreneur Richard Branson, in an interview with the Independent in 2017, said: “Once freed from archaic schooling practices and preconceptions, my mind opened up. Out in the real world, my dyslexia became my massive advantage: it helped me to think creatively and laterally, and see solutions where others saw problems.”
Am I dyslexic?
There are many different strands of dyslexia and everyone processes information differently, but there are common difficulties that people often face. The BDA recommends that anyone who experiences a number of the following issues may wish to investigate further.1 Do you: • Confuse visually similar words such as cat and cot • Spell erratically • Find it hard to scan or skim text • Read/write slowly • Need to re-read paragraphs to understand them • Find it hard to listen and maintain focus • Find it hard to concentrate if there are distractions • Feel sensations of mental overload/switching off • Have difficulty telling left from right • Get confused when given several instructions at once • Have difficulty organising your thoughts on paper • Often forget conversations or important dates • Have difficulty with personal organisation, time management and prioritising tasks • Avoid certain types of work or study • Find some tasks really easy but are unexpectedly challenged by others? You can book a diagnostic assessment at BDA: www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/services/ assessments
There are a number of specific learning differences that people living with dyslexia sometimes experience, and this has led to the creation of the term neurodiversity, which refers to all those who live with these ‘specific learning differences’, or SpLDs2 .
Recent research suggests that those who have dyslexia may also experience some level of one, or more, of the following conditions: • Dyscalculia is a persistent difficulty in understanding numbers, which can lead to problems with maths. This can occur across all ages and abilities. Signs of dyscalculia can be difficulties counting backwards, poor mental arithmetic skills, and finding it hard to remember number facts • Dysgraphia is a disorder of written expression that impairs writing ability and fine motor skills. Adults with dysgraphia generally have trouble with grammar, syntax, comprehension, and writing skills • Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia. This common disorder affects fine and/or gross motor condition in children and adults. Children may have difficulties with self-care, writing, typing, or riding a bike, for example, while adults may continue to experience these issues, as well as struggling to learn new skills or drive a car, for example • Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder (ADD/ADHD) are conditions with symptoms such as inattentiveness, impulsiveness and hyperactivity. Adults with ADHD may have trouble managing time, being organised and setting goals. • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people and the world around them. Behaviours can include, but are not limited to, over-reliance on routines, inflexible thinking, and a lack of communication skills.
Working when you have dyslexia
Living with dyslexia
One of the first steps towards finding better ways of living with dyslexia is to get an official diagnosis. People who think they may be dyslexic can be reluctant to seek help, even going so far as to hide it from their own family.
But with a diagnosis, various skills programmes can help improve spelling skills, reading abilities, and catch up with other parts of the curriculum.
Dyslexia is also covered by the Equality Act 2010, so employers have a legal duty to provide support to any employee who is diagnosed as dyslexic and to ensure they are not discriminated against. This could include giving help filling in forms or carrying out any written work that may be required as part of their role.
Many people who are dyslexic also deal with a visual disorder known as ‘visual stress’, which makes it more difficult to read text on certain coloured backgrounds because of an oversensitivity to certain colour and visual wavelengths. Here, simply covering the page or screen with a coloured overlay can filter out that wavelength and make it easier to read and understand.
Other ways to make it easier to work with dyslexia include using voicemail rather than written documents, giving verbal instructions as well as written ones, highlighting important points in documents, and presenting information in a visual format.
Advice and support about dyslexia
• British Dyslexia Association - www.bdadyslexia.org.uk • NHS - www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia • Made by Dyslexia - www.madebydyslexia.org • Read and Spell - www.readandspell.com/working-with-
dyslexia
• The Reading Well - www.dyslexia-reading-well.com
When dyslexia can be a gift
Gas engineer Paul Hull is co-founder of the Gas Safety Superheroes initiative, and managing director of The Commercia Group. He is dyslexic but says he spent years hiding it from those around him.
“I spent years in silence not telling people, and it held me back,” he says. “It was a problem until I turned 47, when I met someone who told me it was nothing to be ashamed of. Now I want to make sure other people don’t suffer in silence and realise that dyslexia isn’t something to hide.”
Paul says he always knew there was something different about him, and that he struggled to fit in at school, especially with subjects like English. But he really enjoyed practical subjects like metalwork and physics.
“Anything with written work, I just couldn’t do,” Paul explains. “I’m from a generation where learning difficulties and dyslexia just weren’t even considered, and I really struggled. I was always getting into trouble and being suspended from school because I didn’t want to be there.
“I was very embarrassed by my spelling and handwriting and I hid it for more than 40 years. Even now it can affect me with the most mundane things. I hate signing into buildings and having to write my name and vehicle registration – I’d rather roll in fibreglass than write my name in front of someone.
“These days, I understand what’s happening and so I make myself take my time and don’t get as anxious, but it’s such a mundane thing that people
Paul Hull: ‘Make training work’ without dyslexia find very easy. We’re all different and we all have our own skills.”
Paul is very clear that he believes dyslexia is a positive, and that the stigma needs to end. “At work it really does help me, and I tell people that I have dyslexia, but I don’t suffer from it. I just look at things in a different way. I can look at a diagram and see immediately whether something is going to work or not, and I can see patterns in things that people around me don’t – but to me it’s obvious.
“I always say that people don’t understand how we think, but dyslexia can really be a gift. It’s just getting that out of my head and on to a bit of paper where I struggle, and that can be quite frustrating.”
Paul urges gas engineers who have dyslexia, as well as those who may never have been diagnosed, but think they may be dyslexic, to speak out and ask for help. “So many people have come to me quietly or on social media and told me that they’re dyslexic, but that nobody knows because they’re embarrassed. Things are changing, but there’s a lot more that can be done.
“Manufacturers also need to make sure their training courses are accessible to people who are dyslexic and struggle with reading, and the recent move by many companies towards online-only courses concerns me. These courses are often designed by academic people who get that type of learning, but it can be a barrier to many engineers.
“We need to make sure the training we do works for everyone, including 35 to 50 per cent of them who I believe could have a form of dyslexia.
“I was really lucky: my parents supported me and gave me all the encouragement, and if I can do anything to help one person not to suffer in silence, then it’s all worth it. I lived with dyslexia in silence for 40 years; nobody should have to do that.” ■
