A problem shared

Dyslexic Adult Network meetings allow adults with dyslexia to share experiences and discuss them in person.

by Liz Rodger, volunteer Dyslexic Adult Network co-ordinator

At the February meeting in Glasgow, NHS Education Nurse Robert Jenner spoke about working as a painter and decorator. He later retrained as a nurse specialising in learning difficulties. Robert now supports other nursing staff to learn and develop.

Robert spoke about the challenges of painting and decorating. He could never remember what he had been working on by the end of the week and this made filling in his time sheet challenging.

A group discussion then took place around health and safety on construction sites. Site supervisers, the group said, often assume all trades people have read and understood the site rules and some dyslexic workers may be embarrassed to admit they have difficulty with literacy.

It was suggested it may be more dyslexia friendly to have an induction day where all site rules are discussed with new staff rather than assuming all trades people would read them. It was also suggested health and safety rules should contain more symbols and pictures to aid understandiRobert then talked about how being called daft at school and criticised by teachers for appearing not to apply himself to his school work enabled him to develop his empathy and advocacy skills as a learning disabilities nurse. Robert now uses these skills to help other nurses learn on the job.

Suggestions and empathy from others with dyslexia about workplace issues is available at Dyslexic Adult Networks. Meetings offer a variety of dyslexia subjects.
I hope to welcome you to one of our meetings in the near future.