Ways that a company can help employees with learning disabilities

With knowledge and understanding of learning difficulties on the rise, more and more employers are taking note and putting into place procedures to help suffering employees. The purpose of this article is to outline how an employer can assist the working-life of any employees with learning difficulties.

Understand the different types of learning difficulties

A learning difficulty can come in many different forms. To help someone with learning difficulties, you must first understand the variety of different learning difficulties there are. here are just a few:

Auditory Processing Disorder – this is a condition that affects the way in which a person’s brain interprets the different sounds they are hearing. People who suffer from this do not understand the subtle sounds in words and find it difficult to understand where sounds are coming from.

Dyslexia – this learning difficulty affects reading and language-based skills – affecting overall reading comprehension, writing skills and even spelling.

Dysgraphia – This learning difficulty affects a person’s handwriting ability and fine motor skills – and can also result in poor spelling and create difficulty with thinking and writing simultaneously.

Visual Motor Deficit – This is a disorder which affects the understanding of what a person may see and their ability to copy this. This could mean missing essential differences in letters, losing reading places frequently, and can even result in poor hand-eye coordination.

These are just a few of the many learning difficulties that people are suffering from every single day. For a more extensive list, visit https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/

Help them understand the task expected of them

Next, it is important to help people understand the task that is expected of them, clearly and coherently:

• Break down the job into separate tasks
• Ensure that the instructions are in a format accessible to the person
• Check that the person understood – if not, then repeat the instructions clearly
• Show your employee how to do the task
• Give a final check to see if they understand, if not, then demonstrate again

Ensure the relevant support is provided

Finally, ensure that the relevant support is provided, not only by employers but also by other workers and line managers. Keep checking all employees to see if they need any help with certain tasks and give praise when a difficult task has been overcome or completed. Remember – team building and nurturing good working relationships is essential.

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