Is Dyslexia Making it Difficult to Find a Job?

When you apply for work at Sqrft, you will undoubtedly be handed a document that talks about our history, our values, and what you might expect from our process. Some folks don’t read it. Often I wonder if it’s simply because the person has some difficulty reading and who’s going to admit to that? On the other hand I wish we had some way to know.

Despite so many people hating labels—it’s what we do. To label something (or someone) is to get closer to understanding them. When we understand someone, we make better recommendations for jobs.

The following seven minutes on this NPR segment helped me a lot.

Millions Have Dyslexia, Few Understand It

Part 1 of our series “Unlocking Dyslexia.”

“It’s frustrating that you can’t read the simplest word in the world.”

Thomas Lester grabs a book and opens to a random page. He points to a word: galloping.

“Goll—. G—. Gaa—. Gaa—. G—. ” He keeps trying. It is as if the rest ­­of the word is in him somewhere, but he can’t sound it out.

“I don’t … I quit.” He tosses the book and it skids along the table.

Despite stumbling over the simplest words, Thomas — a fourth-grader — is a bright kid. In fact, that’s an often-misunderstood part of dyslexia: It’s not about lacking comprehension, having a low IQ or being deprived of a good education.

It’s about having a really hard time reading.  (read more)