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As an employer, you may be unaware that a new or existing employee has a learning disability until they actually disclose it. Many persons with a learning disability have found ways to compensate or self accommodate since childhood.
What is a Learning Disability?
The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada defines a learning disability as "a disorder that affects a person's ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain." People with learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence.
Learning disabilities take several forms, some of the more commonly known being: Dyslexia (interferes with reading), Dysgraphia (difficulty with writing, including spelling, handwriting and organization of ideas), and Dyscalcula (problems with mathematics and spatial relationships).
Symptoms
- Visual: poor memory for visual information, letter reversals in writing
- Auditory problems: poor memory for spoken information, speech problems
- Motor skills: poor hand-eye coordination
- Organizational skills: poor ability to organize time or space
- Conceptual: poor social skills and peer relations, difficulty interpreting non-verbal language correctly
Because it is a lifelong condition, persons who have a learning disability have developed a variety of ways to overcome their specific barriers. However, low self-esteem and self-confidence can be a problem - one which your workplace environment can help to overcome with positive interactions and constructive feedback. Accommodation for these disabilities is often just a matter of doing things differently.
Today, a vast array of computers and technical devices are available to assist persons with learning disabilities. Some of these devices include:
- voice input and voice output computer software
- sophisticated organizer systems with reminders, checklists, calendars, alarm functions, to-do-lists
- tape recorders and "dictaphone" machines
- computer software to scan printed text and translate into speech
- white noise systems to filter out external distractions
- spelling, grammar and proofreading software
- spreadsheets, calculators and coloured mylar templates
Before purchasing expensive technologies, it is important to investigate all available options and involve your employee in the process including the opportunity to test any equipment before making a decision.
In addition to technical devices, there are a number of other job accommodations that can be made for persons with learning disabilities, such as:
- Allow the employee to phone, rather than write, customers and coworkers
- Reinforce verbal instructions with written information, and vice versa
- Use pictures, charts or graphic symbols to convey printed information
- Break large tasks into smaller ones; allow one task to be completed at a time
- Provide additional time or deadline extensions
- Provide specific expectations and constructive feedback; use reminder systems
- Allow other employees to provide assistance; consider formal arrangement such as mentor or peer tutor relationship
Attention-Deficit Disorder is associated with a set of symptoms that include:
- difficulty sustaining attention in tasks, listening, organization
- easily distracted, forgetful
- excessive talking and interruption, impatient, physically restless
- When considering job accommodation for an employee with Attention-Deficit Disorder, it is important that the person's strengths and positive attributes are suited to the job. Someone who is frustrated and distracted in a position with mundane, repetitive tasks will thrive in a faster-paced role with varied duties and flexibility.
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