Organisational support for employees with dyslexia: An explorative study in South Africa

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Organisational support for employees with dyslexia: An explorative study in South Africa
 
Creator Venter, Carmen Rossouw, Lizelle
 
Subject education dyslexia; adult with dyslexia; employee with dyslexia; organisational support; South African organisations; specific learning disability.
Description Background: Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects reading, writing and spelling. While it is often identified and accommodated in educational settings, employees with dyslexia (EWD) may still face challenges in the workplace as they continue to struggle with this disability throughout their adult lives. While dyslexia can pose challenges for adults in the workplace, accommodations and support measures are available to help mitigate these difficulties.Objectives: This study explored the nature of organisational support provided to EWD within South African organisations.Method: This qualitative research study adopted a constructivist paradigm and applied a qualitative descriptive research strategy. The research approach involved conducting 15 (N = 15) semi-structured virtual interviews with EWD.Results: Employees with dyslexia identified challenges related to dyslexia. Some reported efficient organisational support, while others felt it was lacking. Many used adaptive strategies to cope with daily difficulties. Recommendations were made to improve support for EWD.Conclusion: Employees with dyslexia’s experiences can inform the development of inclusive policies and practices supporting these individuals. Moreover, EWD highlighted the importance of raising awareness and promoting a culture of inclusivity and support for dyslexia within South African organisations.Contribution: The study contributes to the literature on dyslexia and the workforce regarding organisational support within a South African context and has captured the need to encourage heightened awareness, empathy and equitable practices within organisations.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Not applicable
Date 2025-05-16
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — qualitative; semi-structured interviews
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v14i0.1597
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 14 (2025); 13 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1597/3316 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1597/3317 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1597/3318 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1597/3319
 
Coverage South Africa 2023 age; gender; occupation; dyslexia diagnoses
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Carmen Venter, Lizelle Rossouw https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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