What Does 'Authentic Voice’ Mean When We’re Talking About Dyslexia At Work?

Businesses are changing their established practise to better cater to their employees with dyslexia, and as well as an uptick in dyslexic people entering the workplace, we’re also seeing growth in the amount of businesses seeking training to help them along the way. 

We’re clearly getting better at talking about dyslexia at work. And that’s a good thing, right? 

Who’s talking about dyslexia in 2023? 

The breaking down of these barriers is hugely important. But when more businesses get on board with an initiative, the sector tends to take notice… as does the next closest sector, and the next, until it’s started trending and generating huge streams of content within the business community. On the one hand, it’s fantastic that more businesses than ever before are acting on neurodiversity, but it also means that a lot of corporate and media voices have suddenly joined the conversation about how best to support people with dyslexia at work.  

It's a good thing in principle: the more neurodiversity comes to the forefront in a business community, the more power we have to push for positive change. It does, however, mean that the materials we might be basing our new neurodiversity strategy on may not have come via an expert standpoint, so they may not meet the needs of the dyslexic workforce as tightly as we’d like them to be able to. 

Calling in the Experts 

When we say ‘the experts’, we mean working people with dyslexia and the workplace specialists who support businesses toward a neurodiversity-friendly future. These are the authentic voices who positive change within the business community must respond to, so they need to be the first point of contact when we’re determining how best to proceed with adaptations to the way that we work.  

When we properly listen to our colleagues with dyslexia about their lived experience, we’re making sure that we’re not stifling their authentic voice, and we’re fostering an environment in which they feel that they can be themselves, unmask and openly access the tools they need to succeed and create.  

How do we keep authentic dyslexic voices at the forefront of organisational change? 

• Make sure that colleagues are the first point of contact. Ask what teammates need, and don’t only single out identified dyslexic colleagues: many people who aren’t open about their neurodiversity at work may still want to advocate for changes.  
• Bonus points if this process can be anonymous form, so that people don’t have to go public if they don’t want to.  
• Check your sources. An article in a high-readership general publication might look informative, but has writing about these strategies been expert-led, or created from testimonies from dyslexic individuals? 
• The same goes for business community influencers: neurodiversity is a buzzword at the moment, so make sure that the content you’re exploring comes from authentic dyslexic voices or a trained specialist standpoint.  
• Set up dyslexia focus groups within businesses to allow professionals to lead the way on monitoring the success of inclusivity and accessibility changes.  
• Seek out professional dyslexia training or consultancy on the changes you’re planning, and prime teams in how to act in accordance with neurodiversity-friendly best practices.  
• Understand that no two people experience their dyslexia the same: avoid blanket strategy and respond to individual needs. See your ‘dyslexia strategy’ as a starting point, rather than the entire response.  

You can explore the idea more at Succeed With Dyslexia’s free online Dyslexia Learning Festival: The Lived Experience and Authentic Voices. Featuring Gamiel Yafai, Sue Flohr MBE, Elizabeth Takyi and many more, it’s a celebration of dyslexia and the boundless potential that dyslexic individuals have within the workplace, as well as an exploration of the best inclusion strategies that can transform the workplace for dyslexic talent.  

Sign up via On24.  

It’s time for change, and we’re here to assist businesses in making it. Head over to https://www.succeedwithdyslexia.org/training/ for more information, or chat to one of our experts directly via training@succeedwithdyslexia.org.