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Elizabeth worked in the personnel department. She made math errors when rating applicants. She often misread information and made co-workers nervous when she paced around the office at times. Her boss knew she was a good worker, never complained, and was eager to improve. But her errors were serious. He told he that unless she corrected the problems, then she would lose her job.
That's when she told him she had learning disabilities. One was her difficulty seeing accurately, which made her error in proofing. She also had difficulty in math and was hyperactive. Her boss switched her work to the legal library where she could concentrate in the silence. The finance department helped her with arithmetic and the boss himself proofread her work. Placed in a position that eliminated problems caused by her learning disabilities, she was promoted several times.
Experience shows that when approaching employers about learning disabilities and employment, describe the difficulty in a manner-of-fact way. Instead of saying "auditory perceptual" problem" say "hearing" problem. Be up front about the difficulty (for instance, "may need more time to train") and focus on the job seeker's positive traits. Some traits common to many with learning disabilities are over-compensation (if to noise, then this would make a person a good sound engineer or if a person was hyperactive, that person might make a good guard), self-discipline, and creativity. The following are accommodations for specific learning disabilities:
Dyslexia: Instructions can be given verbally, typing can be done by diction, reading can be done by a volunteer or fellow staff member
Written language problems: Shift assignments to reduce writing, use examples and fill in the blanks, have co-workers proofread work
Dyscalculia(math problems): Concentrate on parts of the job that do not involve math
Visual perceptual problems: Color-code files, keep surroundings neat, have proper lighting, have others proofread work
Auditory perceptual problems (hearing difficulty): Eliminate background noise, have instructions repeated, write done important points, ask others to speak in simple sentences
This research was supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research in the U.S. Department of Education. #479
Brown, D. (1984). Employment considerations for learning disabled adults. Journal of Rehabilitation 50(2), 74-77.
Keyword; Employment |
