There are many forms and scales of dyslexia, but one fairly common feature that can mitigate the confusion of letters is using different coloured keyboards. As part of a trial with Talent Development, I have been using this keyboard for around 2 weeks.
The high contrast coloured keys helped separate the letters and can help improve fluidity of my typing as they are less jumbled. This is the large variety of keys, but there are also regular sized keys available. This keyboard will shortly be made available for those who would benefit from it, and I really recommend trialling it if you have dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a common (with 1 in 20 people thought to have some tendencies) and can affect people in a range of ways. As part of Inclusion Week, this paragraph below explains some features of dyslexia, to better understand it and to support you co-workers who may suffer from it.
Commonly dyslexia is associated with bad or muddled spelling, but this is just one of the many potential outputs. The central feature of dyslexia is poor recall. We all struggle with memory every now and then but for many dyslexics, jumbling of numbers or basic sequencing of tasks- whether the order of actions involved in making a cup of tea, or the processes involved in a work project - can be extremely taxing.
The length of time and effort to work through high sequenced tasks can be long. Some aspects of routine working from home have worsened this recall, for myself at least. I can normally only remember discussions and difference them from others based on the scene where they took place (the room, the colour of the walls, what the person was wearing on the day), now everything is on MS Teams, I am totally reliant on my (excessive!) note taking; this is also exacerbated by not having the capacity to print, so lengthy emails or texts with no headings or break points can be tricky. Dyslexia can be a thief of time, for me at least, if I am a little slow on the uptake, imagine that blue loading image occasionally, I need a bit of space and time to ‘buffer’, before the fog clears and I can take on more information.
There are some great resources available to help, and some great sources on information available if you’d like to learn more.
