Coming out as Dyspraxic after 2 months at work

[dobbinhun]

I have looked through all of the posts and although I have learned a lot from the posts, nothing fully answers my problem.

I was given a great opportunity to take up a job as a Project Manager for a big London creative agency. I never mentioned that I grew up with mild to moderate Dyspraxia as my friends said that they might not employ me, give me the same opportunities as everyone else, or generally, not to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Recently, things have started to get hectic, and my team leader keeps on expecting me to get things right first time. I always ask if I can get my pad to write down the instructions, but he has stopped me doing that as he doesn't have enough time to wait for me to slowly right things down. And this is my

I had Dyspraxia "moderately" as a child, and I had to have special lessons throughout my life. At University, I had great support, and moving into a professional career a few years ago, I have never allowed it to get in my way. I guess I have been proud to ignore it and want to be seen like everyone else, but maybe I need to stop being so "strong" and admit it. Of course, I know I'm not the most Dyspraxic person in the world, I'd just hate for people to treat me differently.

Considering my contract is about to expire, I am not making a good impression due to the fact that I can't carry out his orders fully and generally messing up apparently simple tasks. But I am scared that revealing my dyspraxia will make them think that I have been dishonest from the start, treat me differently and patronisingly, and end my contract. What should I do? Any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm thinking about asking HR about what I should do? It's just getting really unfair how he shouts at me a lot for not taking direction well, and the worst part is, if he finds out, he might feel really bad about it!

Thanks

Luce

[Catwoman42]

I think you should have a quiet word with him and let him know, apart from anything else, that you have to take notes.It would be a shame if he had a bad impression of you, you might lose further contracts with them. Although he does sound a bit of a knob...

[ishi]

Unfortunately Luce your story sounds all too familiar.

Disclosure is a tricky issue, as you mentioned you might not have the job in the first place. However not disclosing means that your employer will not know about your difficulties and how they affect your ability to carry out some tasks.

It is quite common for employers to only discover someone has dyspraxia/dyslexia etc. in a performance management situation.

As you've already mentioned you have options. Approaching your line-manager for an open and frank discussion is probably best, althought this does depend on the sort of person they are. If you think they'll understand then you can't go wrong. The research shows that supervisory support is one of the most important factors in keeping people in their jobs and being well motivated and performing.

If you don't think you can do this then you probably should talk to HR. However be warned! HR is not necessarily going to understand what dyspraxia is or how they can help you. You are going to need to tell them what you struggle with and I realise this isn't very easy.

When you employer knowns about your 'disability' you can ask for reasonable adjustments to be put in place to help. An assessment can be carried out by an agency called Access to Work, part of the Department for Work and Pensions. They will pay for the assessment - usually an interview followed by a report on your condition and stuff that might help- and contribute to the cost of any intervention.

You are legally entitled to protection so just remember that. But also understand that your employer could be ignorant, confused or even angry about this news. You need to work with them so that they understand how dyspraxia affects you and your work.

Good luck!

AtW link: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeo ... DG_4000347

[Tim G]

Contact the dyspraxic foundation about this issue (it is quite commen) - they can send you relevent infomation on your situation and could also offer advice to both you and your employer.

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/