Are your employees undiagnosed?

By: Dave Chappelle

Some of us are better communicators than others… especially when writing. The longstanding belief is that learning disabilities are hereditary. When it comes to adults and learning disabilities, generally adults are undiagnosed.

We’ve all encountered the dyslexic genius… the person who knows she isn’t a good writer. Adults generally know when they’re not good writers or communicators. And that holds them back from some kinds of work they may want to do.

“Among professionals who work in this field, 11-18 percent feel these learning disabilities are under diagnosed,” said Neil MacGregor, VP of Learner Development, GoQ Software. “People aren’t trying to be lazy… they simply don’t accomplish the tasks required.”

If you readily accept there are different skill sets and some have strengths and others weaknesses… GoQ has a software programthat enables the use of different skill sets to enhance written communication.

“My verbal skills are at the 98th percentile,” Mr MacGregor said.

“But my reading and writing is at the 13th percentile. I use WordQ to allow me to compensate… to use my verbal skills in place of my writing skills. In school I had no way of accomplishing goals. It’s messy in the workplace, yet it’s almost the same story. When someone can’t meet arbitrary standards they get cut down a peg. You think people have qualifications to do this kind of work extremely well, yet they’re held back because of poor writing skills.”

He recounts the tale of a man who broke down in tears because he didn’t have the writing ability to accomplish the emails necessary to perform a higher manager’s role.

The full article from IT In Canada can be found here.