Employee with dyslexia, age 41
An employee with dyslexia moves to a new department. His new manager knows nothing about his dyslexia. His written reports will be scrutinized, spelling mistakes read as a lack of rigor, quick emails as a lack of professionalism. A QR code sent to the new manager in a direct message as soon as the role starts makes it possible to start off on the right foot, without the employee having to explain his dyslexia to every new team.
This case applies to adults with dyslexia (with or without associated dysorthographia) in managerial, expert, or first-line supervisory roles, during an internal transfer.
The moment
Monday morning, a department change at an insurance company. Karim, 41, a senior actuarial consultant, joins the risk department after 8 years in pricing. His new manager, Pierre, welcomes him for a coffee at 9 am.
Pierre has read the HR file: good reviews, recognized expertise, a few notes about "writing quality could be improved" in previous evaluations. He expects to see these shortcomings show up. At 11 am, Karim sends his first email: a summary of his first contact with a client. Three spelling mistakes, two awkward phrasings. Pierre mentally notes "to keep an eye on."
At 3 pm, Karim sends Pierre a direct message on Teams: "Hi Pierre, before you form an opinion from my emails this week, it's worth taking a look at this," along with a QR code. Pierre scans it. He reads: Karim is dyslexic with mild dysorthographia, and has compensated for 20 years using an advanced proofreading tool (Antidote) that he uses for formal documents but doesn't always switch on for quick emails. He suggests backing up long reports with audio (Loom) to avoid written misunderstandings.
Pierre's view shifts. He suggests to Karim: "No problem, run client emails through Antidote, and for team updates we can do Looms if you'd prefer." Karim exhales. He's set for three years in the department without having to explain his dyslexia to every new colleague.
- You write it
- The QR is in place
- The reader scans
- Understood, without explaining again
Where to place the QR code for this case
A direct message on Teams or Slack to the manager on day one of the new role. The link is more discreet than an attachment. The manager can look at it at their own pace during the first few days.
Also add it to the email signature for exchanges with colleagues, and keep a PDF profile on the employee's personal drive (accessible if the manager leaves and a new one arrives).
Avoid sharing it in the department's general channel: Karim's dyslexia doesn't need to be known to every colleague, only to those who will read his emails and judge his output. Avoid mentioning it in a team welcome meeting.
For cross-functional projects and steering committees, the QR code can be shared with project leads at kickoff, which avoids any surprise at the first piece of written work.
Pre-written text templates
The three templates below are written by the adult concerned, in a confident professional voice. The tone is that of a peer explaining how they work, not an employee asking for leniency.
For the "About me" section
"Karim, 41, senior actuarial consultant. Dyslexia with mild associated dysorthographia, diagnosed at 12. Effective compensation for 20 years using advanced proofreading tools (Antidote, Grammarly), fast skim reading to extract key points, preference for audio over long written reports. My technical expertise and my results are independent of my dyslexia."
For the "How to help" section
"You can: accept audio summaries (Loom) alongside or instead of long written reports, set me up with an advanced proofreading tool across all my Microsoft 365 tools, understand that my quick emails may contain typos (the substance is solid), give me verbal technical briefings rather than administrative writing tasks."
For the "What to avoid" section
"To avoid: commenting on the typos in my emails to my colleagues when I'm not there, asking me to write up the meeting minutes (that's not where I'm useful), marking me down on writing quality when my role is assessed on technical expertise, saying "you should proofread more" (I do proofread, dyslexia doesn't go away with effort)."
Conditions relevant to this case
This case starts from adult dyslexia with mild associated dysorthographia. It also applies to adults with dysgraphia (handwriting is difficult) and adults with dyspraxia (complex manipulation within business software can be slower).
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