Redefining Ability: We’ve All Got a Lot to Re-learn about Learning Disabilities

By Andrés T. Tapia –

You’ve likely heard reference to the dramatic rise in ADHD diagnoses, autism,  and learning disabilities. In light of these trends, you may be wondering what is happening with today’s children. But another question, more pertinent for this blog: What is happening to tomorrow’s (and today’s) workforce?

Roughly 15% of Americans have some form of learning disability—ranging from mild to severe. These include dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, (difficulties in reading, math, and writing respectively), auditory and visual processing disorders, and spatial disorders. Another 2 to 3% of children in the United States have ADHD. Another 1% of children have autism.

Very few of these conditions will be outgrown. All of them present challenges—for children in school, and, as they grow, for adults in the workplace. Some of these disabilities require accommodations, albeit not traditional disability accommodations. For example, people with dyslexia benefit from recorded reading materials. People with ADHD benefit from frequent breaks that help them refresh and refocus.

How much should employers be expected to accommodate? Added to traditional disabilities, the list of “conditions” to accommodate grows ever longer and more daunting. How can employers address them all? In fact, when many of these conditions are not easy to distinguish (and when workers often hide them), what can an employer realistically do?

Perhaps the starting point is to reframe the challenge. In reality, every worker is unique. Employers are wise to remember that people with learning disabilities are not less intelligent—in fact, evidence suggests their disadvantages often are balanced by advantages in other areas, such as creativity and inventiveness. Consider that both Walt Disney and Thomas Edison suffered from learning disabilities. So, letting workers access job- and training-related resources and materials in a variety of ways benefits all workers, not just those with learning disorders.

Several employers already know this.

– Denmark’s Specialisterne, a software quality check company, deliberately seeks autistic workers, based on often unique capabilities such as photographic memory recall and intense attention to detail.

–In the United States, Sodexho has been honored for hiring and training autistic workers.

–IBM fosters positive, safe, and honest communication, letting workers ask for accommodations without fear. According to business consultant Debra Brooks, the company recognizes and values the creativity that learning disabled workers can bring to the table.

Does the emphasis on uniqueness and creativity sound familiar? Once again, the principles of inclusion surface as a business imperative. How can your business tap the creativity embedded within disability?

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