Language Matters: Shifting the Narrative on Dyspraxia

The language you use can define whether you are a great place to work or a place to avoid at all costs. I always believe there is a journey to becoming neuro-inclusive.

I did not even know the word existed until March of this year, where I heard it mentioned in various talks at NAIDEX at the NEC. I hope that this article can help to improve outcomes for dyspraxic job seekers and current employers.

I am sure I’m not the only one who has heard of, and is bored of, the term… ‘reasonable adjustments.’ For me, reasonable adjustments being implemented is a bit like a chef just taking the bread off a classic dish in order to make it gluten free. Rather than making sure the dish is wholeheartedly safe for the consumer, they decide a “reasonable substitution” of taking off the bread is something that you, the consumer, should make do with. So what I’m saying is, in some environments, and I stress not all, you will get a very simplistic approach to support and not something that would make you, as the Dyspraxic individual, feel like you belong there. But fear not, there is a solution.

That solution comes in the form of reframing ‘reasonable adjustments’ as access needs. Organisations should not be able to have their own theory on what a ‘reasonable adjustment’ is. A Dyspraxic individual, or otherwise disabled or neurodivergent individual should always be consulted on and asked “What are your access needs that would help you to be an impactful employee?” A member of an organisation’s senior leadership team should never assume what you need in order to be more effective at work, as no two people with Dyspraxia are affected exactly the same by the condition. So the access needs could look entirely different for me, and for you, in order for us to participate in a work setting.

Mere survival in the workplace is what the general population, let alone Dyspraxic people, have become accustomed to. I will forever question why this is the case until attitudes change. A lot of people see their work as somewhere they go, do what is expected, and get paid for their time and do not really give it a second’s thought once their day has finished. If you are similar to me, you would be constantly thinking about how the day went, how it could have been better and all of the in-between. Again, I do not think I am an isolated case here, and I have at times felt an immense pressure to be better than average and unreplaceable.

However, I completely acknowledge that you have to survive first before you thrive. I do not think it is easy to set someone up to thrive, because, like our access needs, this could look very different for me and you. People have described me as conscientious before, which can be a good and bad thing. The moral of that story is that we should actually be more aware of the lived experience of people around us, whether Dyspraxic or neurotypical. If we are not aware of those things that could be creating difficulty and an approach where we are clinging on for dear life, we will never get out the other side and be able to thrive, until we know what each step of that journey is. And that goes for both neurodivergent and neurotypical people. The aim is for us to live harmoniously. We could achieve that aim by ensuring that Dyspraxic individuals are complimented for their strengths and resilience. Something to emphasise, and particularly for those who can’t drive, and maybe have more barriers such as co-morbid neurodivergence, is that it takes more energy to showcase that resilience and the strengths we possess in the first place.

Disorder… impairment… difficulty. These are just three common words associated with neurodivergence and/or disability. Dyspraxia can also be referred to as Developmental Coordination Disorder. I have shared conversations with fellow Dyspraxic individuals, that were referred to by medical professionals or other professionals as not amounting to anything. Statements like these are unhelpful and damaging. We are not going anywhere positive with language referring to people not having potential. What we should be doing, is focusing on the diverse cognitive styles that exist among us, the alternative skill sets, and unique processing abilities. There is no linear way to judge anyone. You are ultimately placing an even more limiting label on an individual than the condition itself would be. Education whether academically or vocationally speaking is our route towards employment, as this is where our skills are in their earliest point of development. However in some contexts throughout our educational journeys, we come across environments that are not built with inclusion of people like us at the heart of them. If Dyspraxic individuals were seen in more limitless rather than limited ways, do you not agree that this would help to increase employment prospects?

Neurodivergent people, Dyspraxic individuals being amongst them, are often viewed as either high-functioning, or low functioning. On one hand, this means that a Dyspraxic individual could be seen as being highly intelligent, highly creative, a great problem solver, great at adapting. On the other hand, they could be seen as having significant motor impairment, limited independence, challenges with speech and language development, difficulties with nonverbal communication, difficulties with executive functioning, academic challenges, frustration, low self-esteem, and difficulties with social interaction. Not everything is black and white, as much as we would like them to be purely for simplicity. This is another place where we should be focusing on the support needs of the individual in question. You will develop a knowledge of what these are through conversing with Dyspraxic jobseekers and students, and then you’ll be able to tailor working practices accordingly whilst considering the nuances of each Dyspraxic individual.

I would not describe it as an unpopular thought process to feel that society is set up for barriers to remain for Dyspraxic individuals. From there, it is up to the individual how they value or do not value the remarks about ‘overcoming’ the barriers that are constantly in place and somehow gaining some sort of success from very little to work with. I cannot help but think things would be so much different if more time was spent with not only the Dyspraxic individuals but also making a point about changing the viewpoint so that challenges do not come by design, but in the form of someone being ready to step from comfort zone into courage zone. Having a structure around them that will not be a hindrance to them in embracing that.

Written by Sam Killip