Disabilities Discrimination Act 2004 brought into the Equality Act 2010

Tessa Halliwell and Judith Shaw
Definition of disability: A disabled person has ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.’

Mental impairment includes dyslexia. Dyslexia includes dyscalculia

Symptoms of dyslexia can include difficulties with organisation, time, inconsistent performance, memory, listening, as well as writing, spelling and reading. There is a discrepancy between a dyslexic’s ability and his performance. It is likely that 10-15% of the population is dyslexic; possibly more.

Definition of discrimination:
There are four forms of discrimination;
1. Direct (bullying, humiliation etc)
2. Indirect (not making reasonable adjustments)
3. Disability-related
4. Victimisation of a person.

Avoiding discrimination.

You need to understand what dyslexia is and its causes.
You need to identify which aspects of your recruitment, training and employment procedures will cause difficulty.
As an employer you have ‘a duty to make reasonable adjustments’.

Symptoms of Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is called the hidden disability because often adults have developed strategies to cover up their problems. Why should you be concerned?

Sooner or later that employee will not be able to cope or will make mistakes that will affect his/her performance and ultimately the performance of your company. Under those circumstances your action as an employer will be crucial. Accurate understanding of dyslexia will mean your management of the difficulty will be effective.

The cause of dyslexia is a different way of thinking.The positives of this style of thinking mean that, usually, dyslexics are:

creative and innovative
excellent problem solvers and mediators
designers and lateral thinkers.

Dyslexics often have excellent people skills and are good communicators. Most companies benefit hugely from having dyslexic employees.

The difficulties of a dyslexic way of thinking are most commonly identified with reading, writing, and spelling. Less obvious symptoms involve:

an inconsistent level of performance
problems with sequencing or organisation
slow processing – mishearing or misreading, poor memory
not working well under pressure
difficulties with numbers
poor self image.

Most importantly there is a mismatch between potential and performance

What you can do.
Ensure that your company has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of dyslexic employees.
Find out what resources you can use to support and manage your dyslexic employees effectively.

What we can do for you.
Accurate information about dyslexia
Provide bespoke programmes for dyslexic individuals who wish to ‘correct’ their dyslexic symptoms.

What we offer.
A professional and personal service.
Effective and unique solutions for realising employee potential for your business.

Professional services described as Davis®, Davis Dyslexia Correction®, Davis Symbol Mastery®, Davis Orientation Counseling®, and Davis Math Mastery® may only be provided by persons who are employed by a licensed Davis Specialist, or who are trained and licensed as Davis Facilitators by Davis Dyslexia Association International.