Learning Disabilities in the Workplace

Summary: The impact of learning disabilities is lifelong. Issues that made school work challenging crop up again in the workplace. Job accommodations for people with learning disabilities require a partnership between the learning disabled employee and the employer.

Whether you received special education services as a child or developed your own techniques to make life easier, the workplace can present a whole new set of challenges.

Here are a few solutions employees can explore:

• If you are a union laborer, talk with your union's personnel about workplace accommodations
• Become a self-advocate. Self-advocacy is knowing your rights and your needs and expressing that information to the appropriate person
• Understand your disability and how it impacts your performance
• Familiarize yourself with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Know and understand the protections these laws do or do not provide
• Find mentors outside of the job with whom you can discuss work events

Here are a few suggestions employees can explore with their employers:

• Ask to have written communications put on your voice mail
• Ask that supervisor give instructions verbally
• If you have auditory/perceptual problems, request written guidance

Something to Think About...

• In order to receive reasonable accommodation, as is your legal right, you must disclose your disability
• Keeping your learning disability hidden makes it difficult for you to maintain your integrity
• Disclosing your learning disability may reduce the stress of hiding it
• In discussing your learning disability, you provide your employer, manager, and co-workers with accurate, first-hand information, thereby dispelling any myths and misconceptions