Employers Guide - Dyspraxia Foundation

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Dyspraxia Foundation Guide For Employers What adjustments can be made to help? • Self awareness. • Staff awareness and understanding of hidden disabilities and how they affects the individual. • Give summaries and key points rather than full reports. • If interruptions cause difficulty – place the desk in a quiet location and put a Do Not Disturb Sign on the desk or door when busy. • Flexi-time can help with distractions e.g. coming in early, staying on late • Relaxed dress code. • Develop listening skills. • Be aware of non verbal communication e.g. gesture, facial expression in self and others. • Try to be aware of tone of voice. • Be aware of personal space. • When beginning a new job, make sure that the individual has clear directions and guidelines are given. • Provide verbal as well as written instructions. • If possible give instructions one at a time. • It may help to actually show the individual how to do something as well as telling them. • Good lighting is essential. • Give positive encouragement. • Be realistic in your expectations. Case Study: Anne Anne worked in a technical department, she was very well qualified and consequently held a position where she had to interface with all levels of staff. She was efficient at her job and popular with senior management. However, Anne was also considered to be clumsy and eccentric. On one occasion, Anne was the victim of a practical joke by some of the individuals in the office. This had a devastating effect on her and she was off work for a few weeks with stress and depression. On her return, she said to her line manager that she had always had difficulty with social relationships. Anne’s focus and concentration on required tasks was to the detriment of her understanding of the complexities of the office social interaction. She had been diagnosed with “clumsy child syndrome” as a child and had not linked this with her difficulties with social relationships. The manager had attended some training on Hidden Disabilities and suggested that the condition was possibly dyspraxia. Anne explored the definition of dyspraxia and identified many of the difficulties she had. She had an assessment from an occupational therapist who confirmed her dyspraxic tendencies but also identified areas of strength and ways of working on areas of deficit. Anne joined a local group of adults with the same condition. She began to work on a programme of social skills, reviewed her dress code and acknowledged her difficulties to the rest of the staff. The new awareness made Anne more relaxed and her social life became more active. Her work colleagues felt more comfortable with her and so the team became more productive and happier. Produced by Key 4 Learning Ltd
Dyspraxia Foundation Guide For Employers Concentration Difficulties What are concentration difficulties? Concentration difficulties may occur because of the extra effort that is often required by someone with Dyspraxia to complete a task. The additional cognitive “overhead” means memory is stressed and fatigue can easily set in. Distraction from external sources can be overwhelming and the time taken to recover can have a big impact on productivity. How concentration difficulties can affect people in the work place: • Short attention span. • Easily distracted by other people/noises in the office. • Excessive talking. • Impulsive – acting before thinking. • Interrupting others. What adjustments can be made to help? • Provide a quiet place to work in the office e.g. away from the doors, in a corner. • Encourage the use of libraries, file rooms, private offices, store rooms and other enclosed areas when others are not using them. • Make sure the work area has plenty of natural light. • Difficulty focusing and sustaining focus. • Shifting focus (moving attention from one thing to another). • Failing to give close attention to detail, making careless mistakes. • Appearing not to listen when spoken to directly. • Difficulty following instructions. • Failing to finish tasks • Difficulty organising tasks. • Avoids, dislikes or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort. • Loses things necessary for tasks (files or books). • Forgetful in daily routine. • Inability to keep still in seat. • Leaves seat in situation in which remainIng seated is expected. Produced by Key 4 Learning Ltd
Page 1 and 2: Working with Dyspraxia - a Hidden A
Page 3 and 4: Working with Dyspraxia - a Hidden A
Page 5 and 6: Dyspraxia Foundation Guide For Empl
Page 25: Dyspraxia Foundation Guide For Empl
Page 55 and 56: The creation of this material by th

Employers Guide - Dyspraxia Foundation

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?