What do we mean by ‘reasonable adjustments for dyslexia’?
Reasonable adjustments for dyslexia are simply the workplace changes that employers have to make for dyslexic colleagues under the Equality Act (2010).
The legislation outlines that it’s an employer’s responsibility to make sure that workers who are neurodivergent or who have physical or mental health conditions are not substantially disadvantaged when they’re working, or applying for job roles.
To do this, employers are required under UK law to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the workplace and working conditions to ensure that these workers can work comfortably and effectively, and that facilities and opportunities are accessible to all.
General reasonable adjustments to working practice might include:
• Making physical changes to the workplace (i.e. installing a ramp for a wheelchair user or an audio-visual fire alarm for a deaf employee)
• Making changes to procedure (i.e. allowing an employee with social anxiety to stick to their own workspace, as opposed to hotdesking)
• Allowing users to work in other places if they want to, such as on the ground floor if they’re a wheelchair user, or in a quieter workplace space if they are Autistic or have ADHD
• Changing recruitment processes so that candidates can be considered for a job opening, i.e. switching out a written cover letter for a video one
• Changing equipment for more comfortable versions, i.e. chairs or keyboards
• The provision of support technologies and devices
• Allowing employees who become disabled to make a phased return to work
You can find out more atReasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions at the .GOV portal. You can also explore more reasonable adjustments at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
How are reasonable adjustments for dyslexia distinct from the Access to Work Grant?
The Access to Work Grant is a UK government grant for workers who are neurodivergent or who have physical or mental health conditions. It’s not to finance businesses paying in for reasonable adjustments. In general, it’s focused on providing financial support to individuals with differences who might find that they’re incurring additional costs in the work they do, such as expenses related to special equipment, travel, or personnel like support workers.
When an employer is fulfilling their obligation of dyslexia support, it’s extremely likely that those changes would fall under the scope of reasonable adjustments for dyslexia that they’re expected to finance themselves as a provider of employment. This means that those adjustments can’t be paid for by the Access to Work Grant, although assistive technology procurement is still available under other circumstances via Access to Work funding.
If you’re wondering which applies to your situation, it’s best to take a look at the fundamentals of theAccess to Work Grant at the .GOV portal. You can also find out more at the Equality Act (2010)’s Duty on Employers to make Reasonable Adjustments for their Staff PDF Guide.
What kind of workplace difficulties might somebody with dyslexia face?
Whether you’re working on a construction site, in a hospital, in a grocery store or in an office, there’s often a lot of reading involved. But it’s not just about the words and the paperwork: somebody with dyslexia might experience a range of symptoms and effects that impact the way that they work and feel.
Things like…
• Finding reading difficult, time-consuming or draining
• Misreading information or struggling to take in what you’re being asked to do
• Writing differences, like spelling and grammar mistakes
• Feeling embarrassed when you’re reading or writing in front of others
• Poor time management skills, leading to prioritisation issues or late work
• Struggling with task sequencing and planning
• Experiencing visual stress due to imagery (i.e. graphics or presentations)
• Finding it difficult to communicate at speed (think Slack, WhatsApp or MS Teams messaging)
• Struggling (or simply finding it tiring) to communicate socially with your colleagues.
When needs like these aren’t understood and supported, it can lead to dyslexic burnout at work, which can impact working relationships, promotion opportunities, and in extreme cases, their continued employment. That’s why reasonable adjustments for dyslexia are so important when it comes to inclusion and accessibility.
What are common reasonable adjustments for dyslexia?
Those who experience sequencing, time management or planning difficulties might benefit from the introduction of project management software. Software that uses Kanban boards can be helpful, as they help information transition from the textual to the visual. Many people also find it supportive to have visual changes made to written materials too, such as switching to dyslexia-friendly fonts and accessible contrast options – for more information, check out the British Dyslexia Association Style Guide.
And although reading needs might not be the whole equation when it comes to working with dyslexia, they are a large part of reasonable adjustments for dyslexia in the workplace. Supporting them can go a huge way to alleviating the day-to-day stresses that somebody with dyslexia might experience. Many find that auxiliary aids like text-to-speech reading pens and screen readers can make a lot of difference as they allow users to experience information multi-modally, and support textual understandings with audio. They also streamline organising and moving through work because there isn’t as much pressure or time commitment allocated to reading tasks, so it’s easier to get things done and be agile in the work you do.
What can go wrong?
Reasonable adjustments for dyslexia should aim to be three things: intuitive, adaptable, and secure.
• Intuitive, because the easier a device is to work, the easier it is to implement and use on a daily basis, for workers of all ages and digital abilities.
• Adaptive, because no two working days are the same. Adjustments need to make sure workers are comfortable and feel supported responding to reasonable change and new information.
• Secure, because when a consumer commits information to a someone, there’s a legal trust under The Data Protection Act that that information won’t be shared, compromised or put in an at-risk situation where it could be accessed by third parties. There are also scenarios where data has to be kept confidential doubly so because of the setting, such as in hospitals, the armed services, and emergency services.
Many assistive technology devices supplied as reasonable adjustments for dyslexia fulfil the function of supporting dyslexic colleagues in their reading, and some do indeed put simple user experience and adaptability first… but when it comes to information security, storage functions and data gathering capabilities often compromise security, and leave data vulnerable.
There’s only one reasonable adjustment for dyslexia we’d trust with our data every time: C-Pen Secure Reader 2.
What makes C-Pen Secure Reader 2 so special?
C-Pen Secure Reader 2 is a reading pen designed for the needs of the modern workplace. Reasonable adjustments for dyslexia are as simple as scan, listen and understand: users simply plug in a pair of headphones and move the tip of the pen across the page to hear the words read back to them. It’s discreet (although it can read text aloud via an inbuilt speaker too) and it doesn’t need a Wi-Fi connection to work, meaning that it’s ready to support wherever work happens.
As a reasonable adjustment for dyslexia, it combines award-winning text-to-speech technology with a zero-storage design. It’s fully compliant with GDPR legislation. What’s scanned stays between you and the pen, and no record is made of it on the device afterwards, meaning that nobody can be party to that information except the user and the person the data belongs to.
Supporting English in the Workplace with Secure Reader 2
As well as supporting readers as part of their reasonable adjustments for dyslexia, the C-Pen Secure Reader 2 is well-placed to support working people who don’t speak English fluently, or still need time to develop their vocabularies and hone their skills with multi-modal English support.
When you’re working in English but you’re not fully confident in your skills, it can be daunting. Sometimes it can make you feel less than secure in your role or anxious about things like meeting your targets or progressing as your colleagues do. There’s also an element of risk to it in some professions, too: if English skills aren’t as fluent as they need to be, it might result in a safety issue if things are misread or haven’t quite been understood in the way that they need to have been.
Understanding comes more easily if you can hear words as well as see them, and multi-modal reading supports the development of English skills across the board. And that’s not all! C-Pen Secure Reader 2 reads in French and Spanish as well as English, so there’s a holistic reading support suite in two more world languages at your disposal, too.
Budget-conscious reasonable adjustments for dyslexia
Businesses all over the world are being a little more cautious with their finances. That’s why the adjustments you make to ensure that workers with accessibility and inclusion needs have to get the job done first time and every time with a quick and easy transition period, because it’s important for all colleagues to be working to their potential.
The C-Pen Secure Reader 2 is intuitive to use and can be implemented in a matter of minutes, cutting down on the rigmarole of learning new software or adapting to a human reading support. It’s also designed with the average workplace budget in mind and can save businesses thousands of pounds in alternative support costs without ever compromising on the level of support that your employees receive as part of their reasonable adjustments for dyslexia.
Find out more about the C-Pen Secure Reader 2 today!
It’s time to step up your reasonable adjustments for dyslexia, and move toward a more comfortable, supportive and productive working future together.
Explore the possibilities with the C-Pen Secure Reader 2 at Scanning Pens today!
