Making people aware

Gordon’s pro-active approach ensures clearer communication – for him and others.

by Gordon, a member of Dyslexia Scotland

My way of making people aware that I have dyslexia and how it affects me is that whenever I send an email to anyone, I start off by telling them that I have a number of disabilities and one of them is dyslexia. I ask them to be understanding in the way I have sent my email and if they can think about how they reply.

I explain that long words and complex instructions or details can cause me to become confused and I ask them to keep any reply as simple as possible. I have found out to my amazement that most people are very considerate in their reply and understand that dyslexia affects people in different ways and covers all age groups. Also, when I inform them I have dyslexia, a number of people that come back to me say they either have a family member or they know someone with dyslexia and understand where I am coming from. With forms, people tend to help as much as possible – filling in the various pieces of information so that I just have to sign. When becoming members of clubs and associations, I tell them that it is virtually impossible for me to read and understand the complex terms and conditions and the privacy policy. They tend to be quite understanding and say that I have no need to worry about those as they are just general and straightforward and with that being the case, I sign up and become a new member and I am made most welcome.

So my one piece of advice that I wish to pass on is tell everyone that, whether you email, text or post a letter the old fashioned way, telling the reader up front that you have dyslexia is making them aware of your disadvantage and it is also spreading the word of dyslexia far and wide.