MPG Handout Pack Coaching Adults with Dyslexia to Improve Performance at Work Nancy Doyle C. Psychol.
Jun 29, 2015
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Coaching Adults with Dyslexia to Improve Performance at Work
Nancy Doyle C. Psychol.
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How does dyslexia impact on workplace performance?
To what extent does coaching dyslexics in the workplace improve their performance?
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‘Neuro-diversity’
Phonological Deficit: Book: Guest, 2009 / Research: Shaywitz et al. 1990sVisual Bias: Book: Eide and Eide, 2011 / Research Von Karolyi et al. 2001 +
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Workplace impact
Memory
• Remembering verbal instructions
• Keeping track in meetings
Organisational Skills
• Filing• Managing
emails• Keeping track
of equipment
Time Management
• Prioritising workload
• Meeting deadlines
• Estimating how long things will take
Literacy
• Basics – spelling and grammar
• Structuring reports
• Reading lengthy material
Difficulties: Bartlett, Moody & Kindersley, 2010
Entrepreneurialism: Logan, 2010
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Equality Act 2010
Dyslexia Prevalence in the working population 4-8% (Rose, 2009)
In the population of long term unemployed 28% (Kirby, 2012)
Access to Work refers 3000 dyslexics per year (Gifford, 2011)
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Evaluating the coaching
Who?
• 95 coaching clients in the UK mainly referred through Access to Work or Occupational Health
• 41 men, 44 women
• Aged between 23 and 59
• All receiving coaching to improve workplace productivity on account of being dyslexic and / or dyspraxic
• Average of 9.86 hours received over 4.6 sessions
How?
• Both manager and client asked to identify topics to cover and then independently give a score out of 10 for their current performance
• Coaching delivered by professional work based coaches with a level 5 certificate in coaching
• Researcher calls 1 month after coaching and asks for current performance again, without revealing the initial score
• Regression Analysis and ANOVA used to investigate distance travelled and key topics covered
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Worki
ng Mem
ory
Organisa
tional Sk
ills
Spell
ing
Grammar
Mangin
g Tim
e
Planning
Stress
Man
agem
ent
Communicating y
our nee
ds
Reading
Prioriti
sing
Writi
ng Styl
e
Dyslex
ia Aware
ness
Numeracy
Handwriti
ng
Finding D
irecti
ons0%
10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
Worki
ng Mem
ory
Organisa
tional Sk
ills
Mangin
g Tim
e
Spell
ing
Grammar
Planning
Stress
Man
agem
ent
Prioriti
sing
Reading
Writi
ng Styl
e
Communicating y
our nee
ds
Dyslex
ia Aware
ness
Numeracy
Handwriti
ng
Finding D
irecti
ons0%
10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
% Clients responding
% Managers responding
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Impact on Perceived Productivity
Clients report a 57% improvementManagers report a 28% improvement
clients managers0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
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Does the amount of coaching affect outcomes?
For clients, the number of sessions significantly affected their scores for:
Working memory (F=2.35 p=.019)Spelling (F= 2.201, p= .043)Organisation (F=2.064, p=.048)
The hours of coaching significantly affected scores for:
Planning scores (F=2.438, p=.021)
For managers, the number of sessions significantly affected:
Dyslexia Awareness (F=4.095, p=.028)Communicating their needs (F=3.403, p=.041)
Whereas the hours of coaching significantly affected:
Numeracy (F=3.822, p=.042)
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Do any topics have a ‘halo effect’?
Planning
Prioriti
sing
Short
term m
emory
Time m
anag
emen
t
Grammar
Stress
man
agem
ent
Handwriti
ng
**Fin
ding dire
ctions
Writi
ng
Organisa
tion
**Rea
ding
**Sp
elling
**Numera
cy
**Dysl
exia
aware
ness
**Communica
ting nee
ds0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
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So what?
Does this mean the assessors are doing
a good job?
Is there a different independent
variable that we haven’t measured ?
Are we looking at individual facets of
more global factors?
Does the distance travelled simply
reflect their expectations?
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What next?
How does this compare to technology alone?
Technology combined?
Can we correlate coach’s reflections on distance
travelled?
A further study relating self report measure and
external measures of performance
What are the other things the coaches are
doing that might impact, for example, discussions around diet and sleep?
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Signposting
What might you notice?
• Difficulty managing appointments• Forgetting or failing to follow up
on verbal advice• Poor articulation• Going off on tangents• Workplace stress absence• Poor personal organisation• Clumsiness, lack of driving skills
(dyspraxia)• Chaotic personal life, multiple
jobs (ADHD)
Where can be done?
• Referral to Access to Work• Referral to Occupational Health• Companies are legally obliged to
take neuro-diversity seriously and risk Unfair Dismissal cases if they fail to make ‘reasonable adjustments’
• Technology adjustments• Coaching programmes• Video Learning Journeys and
online specialist support
Albert Einstein
“If you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid.”
67% of our clients report depression, anxiety, work-related stress and / or
insomnia
Correctly identifying the root cause is the first step to getting on the right track