e.g.

All emails sent only to you  – in blue

Emails from your manager in green

Emails from another dept in pink

How:   Tools / Organise / Using Colours…

Working Well Support Services offers a wide range of services for organisations, their employees, manager’s and individuals.

Neuro-diversity Awareness in the Workplace

Working Well has extensive resources to promote Neuro-diversity in the workplace, offering a creative, educational experience, including:

• Short films relating to Neuro-Diversity
• Neuro-diversity Awareness Exhibition
• Neuro-diversity Awareness Day
• Neuro- Diversity Presentation
• Neuro-diverse art

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Coaching for Managers

Coaching for Managers can be either an individual or group training/coaching to assist manager’s with best practice in supporting employees with hidden disabilities or difficulties, and help them celebrate Neuro-diversity within the workplace.

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Support group facilitation for Neuro-Diverse Employees

Individual employees who are neuro-atypical benefit from talking about their experiences and sharing ideas.  In order to celebrate neuro-diversity within the workplace it is considered good practice to provide a forum for neuro-atypical employees to have a discussion and support forum, particularly before, during and after a process of Neuro-diversity awareness within the workplace.

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Coping Strategy Training for Neuro-atypical employees

Client centred skills development training for employees to remove barriers to their successful work performance, and enhancing the experience of working.

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Coaching for Managers

Coaching for Managers can be either an individual or group training/coaching to assist manager’s with best practice in supporting employees with hidden disabilities or difficulties, and help them celebrate Neuro-diversity within the workplace.

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Counselling for Employees

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Counselling for Managers

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Conflict Management

For more information contact workingwell2009@hotmail.com

Working Well is a support project designed by Andy Taylor BA Hons

Andy is an Integrative Counsellor and a Disability Consultant

Asperger’s Syndrome was named after Dr Hans Asperger, a Viennese paediatrician who described it in a 1944 paper. It remained mostly unknown to the English speaking world, until it was picked up by Lorna Wing in an influential review and series of case reports in 1981. “Asperger’s Syndrome” was made “official” in 1994 when it was included in the DSM manual used by psychologists to classify mental conditions.

Current thinking places Asperger’s Syndrome on the “autistic spectrum”. It is believed that individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome tend to have an IQ ranging from average to genius, and there is much speculation that the likes of Albert Einstein and many other philosophers, scientists and genius musicians had Asperger’s Syndrome.

The main characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome are often (but not always) a deep focus on a specialist subject or area, a difficulty in understanding human interactions and human social codes (almost like being an alien trying to understand a strange species) and a difficulty with changing environments which need to be learned and adjusted to.

People with Asperger’s Syndrome tend to have a normal to high intelligence, often coupled with a special skill or ability (e.g. extraordinary mathematical or linguistic abilities).

In addition, people with Asperger’s Syndrome are sometimes hypersensitive to stimuli such as light, noise and pain, and their motor skills may be less developed than the norm (e.g. they tend to play less sports).

Many of them are partially face-blind (have a problem remembering faces). They have to invest a lot of energy in understanding interactions and would often need to consciously plan their social behaviour in advance, including when they walk down a busy pedestrian road, and have to avoid running into people.

That intuition – the innate ability to translate human body-language and non-verbal cues is simply not there for them. People with Asperger Syndrome often describe their experience as that of “being on the wrong planet”. They have to learn how humans interact and simulate it. It isn’t a natural trait for them as it is for everyone else.

Asperger’s Syndrome is characterised by a neuro-biological difference from the norm, which means Aspergians process information differently. This is an important point to understand. Asperger’s Syndrome is not a mental illness or a disorder: it is simply a neurological variation from the norm. It is inherited genetically and very often will run in families.

Sourced and adapted from the Asprgia website: An alternative, positive, and sometimes comic view of Asperger’s http://www.aspergia.com/

Tourette’s Syndrome is a hereditary disorder that develops from childhood. The main characteristics are involuntary motor (body) tics or twitches and vocal tics. The tics may be controlled to a certain degree by the person before they reach adolescence.

Common symptoms – motor tics

· eye blinking or rolling
· shaking of the head
· shoulder shrugging
· squinting
· nose-twitching
· lip smacking
· tongue-thrusting
· twitches of the mouth

Common symptoms – vocal tics

· sniffing
· throat clearing
· grunting
· spitting
· swearing (known as coprolalia)
· stammering
· hissing
· shouting

Difficulties associated with Tourette’s Syndrome

· Non-neurological inability to carry out an action, such as reading.
· Prone to moodiness.
· May over-react in certain situations.
· Difficulties with impulsivity, compulsions and obsessions .
· Defiant behaviour to those in authority.

Related link http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/

ADD stands for ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’ and is sometimes called AD(H)D, when the presence of hyperactivity is particularly strong. The main difficulties of a person with ADD lie with concentration, short term memory, impulsive behaviour and becoming distracted. ADD develops at birth and can not be acquired later on as in the case of acquired dyspraxia.

ADD symptoms

Until recently it was believed that ADD symptoms largely disappeared in adolescence. It is now known that many symptoms continue into adulthood for up to 80% of individuals with ADD. Adults with ADD experience problems at work and in relationships. They may also exhibit other emotional difficulties. Medications such as psycho-stimulants can be an effective intervention with adults with ADD.

The major symptoms of ADD are -

1. Inattention, when a person appears easily distractible, has difficulty concentrating, procrastinates when starting tasks or has trouble finishing them (often wrongly construed as laziness), has problems listening to and following instructions, often daydreams or wanders around;

2. Impulsiveness, when sufferers act without thinking, have difficulty waiting turn in queues, move from one unfinished task to another, call out or make remarks inappropriate to the situation, or rush into tasks without thinking;

3. Over-activity, where a person seems ‘motor-driven’, fidgety, restless, tapping feet or drumming fingers, or engages in non-task related activities, and is often accident-prone;

4. Disorganisation, such as losing books or toys, forgetting homework, meetings or papers, tools and pens are lost, or instructions not acted on;

5. Social skill deficits, when people appear immature, lack awareness and sensitivity to those around them, demand attention, are aggressive, argumentative or over-react to minor problems.

useful links for ADD / ADHD:

Addiss http://www.addiss.co.uk/

Adders http://www.adders.org/

^ TOP

Private and Confidential

Disclosure Document

For

James Brown

Name of Organisation: ?

DETAILS

Client Name: James Brown

Employer: ?

Introduction

James Brown has dyspraxia. This was formally assessed by ?…… in ….? The suggestions in this document are based on the information from that report.

Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia affects up to 6% of the population in varying degrees. It generally manifests itself as difficulties with co-ordination. Some of the positive aspects of dyspraxia are:

• Having excellent long term memory for detail
• Being persistent and determined
• Having the capacity to see the big picture

Some of the more common difficulties include:

• Planning and organising thoughts
• Concentrating, especially in distracting environments
• Being slower in picking up on non verbal signals in others, so can sometimes appear brusque
• Visual and Auditory processing differences that result in sensory sensitivity
• Others misunderstanding body language
• Poor balance and coordination

People with dyspraxia have to focus on their ideas without distraction. This may mean that they do not look directly at others. This must not be misconstrued but understood as being part of the processing difference.

There is no cure as such but there are some strategies, which can be learned, which are helpful.

How dyspraxia affects James

• Poor dexterity when typing
• Difficulty using a stapler
• Weak auditory memory and forgets instructions
• Poor sense of time. This affects time management, planning and prioritisation
• Anxious about using the phone and writing emails
• Finds personal interaction difficult and would like to develop more social interaction skills
• Co-ordination difficulties that have prevented him from learning to drive
• Sensory sensitivity in relation to touch, visual, auditory and movement processing
• Logic and accuracy in his thinking but has a pervasive problem of delay in planning and executing activity.
• Registers a response to the environment less efficiently than others.
• Dislikes change in his environment
• Prefers a small area of repetitive work which he can become an expert in
• Requires longer than others to do practical activities
• Speed of processing impacts on his literacy skills
• Easily distracted by the bustle and noise of the office
• Finds interruptions difficult to deal with

Reasonable adjustments

We suggest that James would benefit from the following:

• Being provided with a long handled stapler
• Having an ergonomic keyboard
• Having help with planning and time management and prioritisation. It is planned that these skills are developed in a practical way while James is working on a project
• It is an aim that James learns to organise his own time, both in work and at home more effectively
• A course in speed reading skills
• Because of James’s weak auditory memory it is important all instructions are written down
• It is suggested James has an ergonomic assessment to establish if his problems with his wrist are because of inappropriate posture
• It is necessary for James to become more confident about using email and the phone to carry out his role effectively.
• We suggest James has a mentor to help develop his social skills and to develop more of a “corporate identity”. The aim is for him to become more of a team player. This can be set up relatively quickly with James’s agreement.
• To help his sensory sensitivity and environmental awareness, the Occupational Therapist suggests James undertakes some exercise either on site or outside of work
• James dislikes change but it is important he is more flexible and adaptable for any prospective role.
• Because of his visual sensitivity, James needs to have printed documents on pale blue paper. The background colour of his computer screen needs to be changed to pale blue.
• It would be of benefit to James if he had screening around his desk and a “Do Not Disturb” sign to put on his desk when he is focussing on tasks.

If you have any questions about this disclosure document, please do not hesitate to contact James.

Signed

James Brown

Further information available from

DANDA: Developmental Adult Neuro-Diversity Association,

46 Westbere Road, London NW2 3RU

Tel: 020 7435 7891

Email: mary.colley@danda.org.uk

To be able to steer a car, concentrate, judge distance, use both hands and feet together and remember how to carry out a sequence of tasks all at the same time is very daunting.  It is hardly surprising that many of us that have dyspraxia decide that driving a car is beyond our capabilities.  However, social pressures and work commitments may compel us to at least give driving a try.

There is some help available for learner drivers with co-ordination difficulties.  A number of assessment centres throughout the country offer information and advice to drivers who have a disability and assess them in a safe environment to establish their capabilities.  Please contact the Forum Of Mobility centres www.mobility-centres.org.uk for further advice.  The staff at these Centres are very helpful and are used to working with people with poor concentration and perceptual and spatial awareness problems.

Some driving schools, such as the British School of Motoring offer courses which cater for specialist needs.  Some of the BSM’s branches have simulators with geared cars, on which you can build your confidence before you take to the open road.

Before you choose a driving school shop around and ask questions.  Only you know what your difficulties are. It is up to you to make a prospective instructor aware of them.  You maybe able to track down an instructor who has taught people with disabilities, who is patient and has the experience to teach techniques that will help you to learn.

Driving tips

• Try to learn in an automatic car. Less co-ordination is needed and there is less to think about.
• When taking the test, ask for extra time to complete the written section if you think that you need it.
• Have extra wing mirrors fitted for easier parking and reversing.
• Larger, higher-mounted steering wheels are easier to use.
• Mark the right side of the steering wheel with a sticker to help you to remember which side is right and which is left.
• Plan and prepare your journey as much as possible before you set out. Write down the directions and clip them to the dash board.
• If you have map reading problems, reverse maps can help and/or computer navigation systems.
• Take frequent breaks if you find concentration difficult.

A guide for employers

Between 5 percent and 10 percent of the population have some symptoms of dyspraxia. It is probable that people who have dyspraxia work for your organisation. We have developed these guidelines to raise awareness amongst employers and to provide support to employees.

Adults with dyspraxia are often determined, hard working and highly motivated. They develop their own strategies for working effectively. In many ways, people who have dyspraxia are similar to those who have dyslexia: they are often creative and original thinkers as well as strategic problem solvers.

How can employers help?

• Make sure instructions are concise and wherever possible provide timetables, mnemonics and mind maps as these help people with dyspraxia to prioritise their work and meet deadlines. They should be encouraged to write instructions down clearly and to keep them for easy reference.

• Employees who have dyspraxia respond well to routines. They benefit from provision of a structured timetable and the opportunity for training in time-management. Have a clock in view and encourage awareness of time.

• People with dyspraxia should be encouraged to break down their work into manageable chunks and to use different coloured folders for different tasks to help with organisation. Allowing regular breaks can improve productivity.

• Word processors which have grammar and spell checks can be of great use, as can speech recognition and proof reading programs. Templates can be used for detailed work such as reports and provide a framework for writing.

• The person’s position at the word processor/computer should also be taken into account. Ergonomics keyboards can be of great benefit to all employees as can changing or slowing down the mouse. Keyboard short cuts can also be used as an alternative to the mouse.

• If employees with dyspraxia use machines such as fax machines and photocopiers, keep a list of the operating procedures nearby. This is helpful for all employees.

• It may be possible to arrange for employees with dyspraxia to come in early or to stay late, to reduce distraction. Perhaps they can have a partition around their desk, own room or allow them to wear earphones to reduce distractions.

• Encourage your workers who have dyspraxia to approach tasks in a calm and positive manner.

• If affected by the glare of black text on white paper, the employee  may wish to use a coloured overlay when reading documents or change the background colour of his screen

• A personal stereo or ipod with instrumental music can create a “personal space” and help with focus

• Provide frequent, regularly scheduled breaks and encourage the individual to take some fresh air

• Exercise, Yoga or T’ai-Chi may help. Even a short walk may be helpful

The provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act cover those people whose ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities is adversely affected by a physical or mental impairment on a long term basis. Under the terms of the Act, an employer must make reasonable adjustments to accommodate a disabled persons needs. Support can sometimes be provided for the individual and paid for by the Employments Service’s Disability Team.

Above all, employers need to ensure that their employees with dyspraxia have the opportunity to develop their strengths and are given appropriate support to minimise the impact of their symptoms.

Further Reading

Living with Dyspraxia by Mary Colley published Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2006

Dyslexia in the Workplace, by Diana Bartlett & Sylvia Moody, Whurr Publ. 2000

Further Information

Dyspraxia Foundation Tel: 01462 454986, Email: dyspraxia@dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk

Disability Service Teams at main Local Job Centres. They have programmes to help the employer with the costs of making adaptations such as the access to work scheme

A Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) can refer the employee to a local employment service occupation psychologist who can assess employees who have dyspraxia.

Employer’s Forum on Disability Tel: 020 7403 3020

Help and guidance for job seekers and employees

Dyspraxia, or Developmental Co-ordination Disorder, is a recognised medical disorder, which impairs the organisation of movement. It is also associated with problems of language, perception and thought. It affects about 6 per cent of the population – 2 to 4 per cent seriously

Many adults who have dyspraxia experience few problems in the workplace and have developed their own strategies for working effectively. They are often determined, persistent, hard working and highly motivated. In many ways adults with dyspraxia are similar to those with dyslexia. They are often creative and original thinkers as well as strategic problem solvers. However, some people with dyspraxia find it hard to achieve their true potential and may need extra support at work.

People with dyspraxia may have difficulties when looking for work, or at work. These may include:

• Choosing what job to do

• Having the confidence and organisation to apply for posts
• Operating computers
• Keyboard skills
• Using office equipment such as photocopiers and staplers
• Organising their workload
• Communication – such as following oral instructions and taking part in discussions
• Handwriting and general writing skills
• Memory and concentration.

However, there are steps that both people with dyspraxia and their employers can take to help them in seeking work or to make their working life better. This leaflet outlines some of those steps.

Job seekers

Planning for the world of work
Choosing a career is a difficult process for everybody. You need to be patient and flexible; and to keep your options open.

You can get extra support from your Special Needs Careers Advisors at your Local Careers Service, or your Disability Service Team at main Job Centres, where there will be a Disability Employment Advisor and sometimes an Employment Service Occupational Psychologist

• Make a list of all available sources of information, such as the Internet, local and national newspapers, Job Centres and job agencies specialising in disabled people (see list at end)
• Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses
• Make a Disclosure Document (an example of which is shown at the end of this document)
• Choose a field and/or type of job that fits with those strengths and weaknesses – and that you would enjoy. Consider your hobbies and the skills you have gained from them as potential leads into jobs
• Be prepared if necessary to take small steps at first towards achieving your goal. You may need to complete a course of study or training first
• Be realistic – if you are too ambitious you may be unsuccessful
• You may get the opportunity to do a job on a voluntary basis first. This can be very helpful
• Think about what adaptations you may need because of your co-ordination problems
• Only apply for posts that you really want. There is no point wasting time and money on applying for a job that is not suited to you
• Jobs that can be suited to those with dyspraxia include caring for the young and elderly, for people with learning difficulties and for animals
• It may be possible to turn hobbies into jobs – for example, photography or writing

Of course, some people who have dyspraxia are very good at the jobs that can cause problems to others with dyspraxia, e.g. working with computers. We are all different!

Applying for a job

When you have planned, prepared and made your choice, the next step is to apply for a job.

• Prepare your typed CV. Get as much help as you can, for example, by getting someone to assist you in drafting your covering letter. In some cases, you will be able to get somebody to hand-write the letter for you.
• Consider seeking help from your local Careers Service or Job Centre
• If possible, download the application form into your computer and type your answers. Otherwise, photocopy the application form and write it out in rough first, to ensure you send in a neat and well-presented form.

Interviews

• Ask somebody to give you a mock interview
• Make a list of likely questions that you will be asked
• Think of an interesting question you can ask about the company/work at the interview
• Plan your route to the interview in advance – perhaps even have a trial run to make sure that you arrive on time
• Choose the clothes you are going to wear for the interview well in advance. Do not wear anything brand-new. You need to be comfortable and smart.

Disclosing dyspraxia
Should you tell your potential employer about your dyspraxia?
Each person’s circumstances are unique: only you will have an idea of how your dyspraxia is likely to affect your ability to do the job. If your dyspraxia is only mild, for example, it may not affect your ability to do that particular job. If you do disclose, however, do so in a positive way and point out your strengths. For example, prepare a Disclosure Document and take it in with you.

The Disability Discrimination Act
The provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act cover those people whose ability to carry out normal day to day activities is adversely affected by a physical or mental impairment on a long-term basis. Under the terms of the Act, an employer must make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled employees’ needs.

If you feel that your dyspraxia falls into the definition as described in the Act, it is best to let your employer know before you start the job that you may need extra support. Be prepared to educate your employer about dyspraxia, to ask for the support to which you are entitled and be ready with information about dyspraxia.   DANDA publishes a leaflet, Dyspraxia in the Workplace for Employers. (See at the end of this leaflet for details.)

Strategies at work

Employers can do a lot to help staff with dyspraxia, but often their lack of knowledge means that they are not sure what to do. It may be helpful if you can provide some guidance with simple things which will help you to work more efficiently. If you think that specialist advice will be necessary you can also refer your employer to the Disability Employment Advisor at the Job Centre. The Job Centre may also be able to make use of the services of an Employment Service Educational Psychologist.

The following strategies have helped a large number of people with Dyspraxia. You will need to identify those which are most appropriate for the work you are doing.

Time management: Before you start work, plan what you have to do that day and prioritise your tasks. Use visual aids such as mind maps, flow charts, and spider diagrams. Ask your employer to help you with planning and prioritising and at the same time make clear (tactfully!) that you would prefer them not to ‘hover over’ you and that you find being put under pressure difficult.

Many people with dyspraxia respond well to routines – if this is appropriate for your job ask your employer to provide a structured timetable to help you focus on each task. Ask your employer if there is a time management course which you can attend and ask for plenty of advance warning of deadlines. Ask your employer for a clock nearby, or bring one in and put it on your desk, to help with your allocation of time to task.

Make use of a diary or calendar on your computer to help with planning by adding tasks as you agree them and also putting in reminders of deadlines for tasks before they are due.

Organisation: Organise your workload into urgent and non-urgent piles. Break down tasks and projects into manageable chunks. Think of large projects as a series of small tasks with a beginning and an end. Reward yourself when you have finished a task. Make sure that you take regular breaks to maximise your productivity and concentration.

Make your employer aware that it can be helpful for you to be able to colour code folders and files for particular tasks – you may find that other employees find this helpful too.

Instructions: Write down instructions clearly and keep them for safe reference. Ask your employer to take time to clarify instructions if necessary. At meetings, use a tape recorder to help you to remember what you have to do.

Working at a Computer: Shortly after you take up a new job you should ask for a DSE (Display Screen Equipment) assessment (this is a Health and Safety procedure which should be carried out for all staff regardless of disability). This will help you to adopt the most comfortable position at your desk in relation to your computer and may help to identify adjustments which are specific to you. It may be possible to use an ergonomic keyboard and mouse. Slowing down the mouse can help, as can using keyboard shortcuts, if you find the mouse particularly difficult to manipulate. You may also find it useful to change the background colour of your computer. Ask for a paper rest if you are copy-typing a document to allow you to keep a good posture and follow the text of the original document down the page.

Depending on the degree of your dyspraxia you may also benefit from a specialist chair, or footrest. The Employment Service Access to Work scheme (accessed through the Disability Employment Advisor at the Job Centre) can help with the cost of these.

Operating office machines: Keep clear instructions on how to operate photocopiers, fax machines, printers etc. Pin the instructions up next to these machines – then they can serve as a memory jogger for other people too.

Written work: Use your word processor’s grammar and spell-checks and consider asking someone to proof-read your work. If you are proofreading your own work then put the draft to one side for a while before going back to read it with “fresh eyes”. If appropriate, ask for speech recognition software and proof-reading programs such as textHELP!

Make use of templates for documents which are often used- if you use a computer keep these in a master templates folder.  You may also find it helpful to make a template for telephone messages to make sure that you capture all the key information. Ask your employer if they are willing to send you on a course to improve your writing skills.

If you are required to read large quantities of written work it may be helpful to enlarge the text and print the documents for reading. Use of a coloured transparency overlay or printing documents on pale coloured paper can often be easier on the eye than black print on white. You may be able to ask your employer for help by suggesting that other members of staff read long documents and then provide a resume.

Coping with distraction: You could look into the possibility of flexi-time – coming in early or leaving late. A partition round your desk or wearing headphones can also help to reduce distractions. Colleagues should be made aware that your concentration is easily disturbed. A “do not disturb” sign will help others to understand when you need to concentrate. It may not be possible to make use of this all day so you may need to agree with your employer that this would be helpful for certain periods of the day.

Attitude: Try to be as calm and positive as possible. You might want to think about using basic mind and body relaxation exercises to help you to reduce your stress levels and thus improve your overall performance. Assertiveness training may help you to communicate more effectively at work. It is important to show your employer that you have many strengths; and that you want to do a good job and can achieve this, with the right support.

Further Reading

Living with Dyspraxia by Mary Colley published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2006

Developmental Co-ordination Disorder in Adults by Sharon Drew published by WHURR

(from Danda – see links)