Adults with dyslexia can face many challenges in work, study and everyday life. Difficulties with reading, writing, processing information and working memory can cause problems for adults with dyslexia such as:
- Writing reports, emails, essays and assignments
- Taking notes in meetings and lectures
- Remembering instructions and directions
- Reading information accurately
- Completing forms online and on paper
However, with the right support adults with dyslexia can overcome many of their difficulties, enabling them to perform well in the workplace or educational setting and ultimately reaching their full potential.
Depending on the situation, there may be funding available to help provide specialist support for dyslexia.
Adults in the workplace
Access to Work is government funding which can pay for support for disabled employees. The grant can be used to help people start work, stay in work or become self employed and start their own business.
For employees with dyslexia Access to Work may be able to provide funding towards the cost of:
- Assistive technology equipment & training
- Coping strategies training or workplace coaching
Employees with dyslexia can have a workplace needs assessment which will make recommendations for support in their role. This may include reasonable adjustments such as:
- Being provided with a diary to help someone organise their day
- Providing coloured overlays to aid reading, or coloured paper with accessible fonts
- Providing specialist computer software
- Discussing which coping strategies can be used
- Providing memory aids, for example a dictaphone or notetaking software
- Giving training material in advance to allow the employee to focus on the training rather than trying to take notes
- Proving access to a sat nav if their work involves driving.
You can find out more about the Access to Work process by looking at this useful guide by disabled-led social enterprise Diversity & Ability.
Students at university
If you are an adult with dyslexia studying on a higher education course you may be able to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).
In order to prove your eligibility you will need a full diagnostic assessment which confirms that you are dyslexic.
DSA can provide support with:
- Specialist 1:1 study skills support to help develop strategies such as advanced reading and revision techniques, academic writing support, approaches to planning and organising your work
- Assistive technology- this can include contributing to the cost of laptops, programmes such as text to speech and speech to text, dictaphone or other notetaking software and mind mapping apps and programmes
- In addition, DSA will provide a 1:1 assistive technology specialist to demonstrate any new assistive technologies provided.
Students studying on a further education (FE) course or apprenticeship
Whilst there is usually no additional funding for students who are not studying at higher education level, the college or training provider is still required to make reasonable adjustments for students with dyslexia in order to ensure that their needs are met.Often they will be able to provide a dyslexia screener and some offer 1:1 or small group support through the additional learning support departments.
Students may also be eligible for exam access arrangements. These may include:
- Extra time
- Reader
- Scribe
- Dictation software
Adults taking driving theory tests
There are a number of options available to individuals with difficulties with reading, these include:
- additional time for reading tests,
- a reader to provide the questions orally
- a scribe to note down answers.
All information regarding driving test theory exams is provided on the government website.
