Every October the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) picks a theme for Dyslexia Awareness Week. This year's, which ran October 5–11, was "Dyslexia in real life: At work." It was a deliberate turn away from the classroom, where most dyslexia conversations live, toward the adults those classrooms produce. "Dyslexia is not a lack of ability and should never be reduced to a list of difficulties," wrote the BDA's chief executive, Ellen Broomé, in a blog post opening the week. For American families the theme lands closer to home than it might seem. A common story in dyslexia communities goes like this: a child is identified, a parent reads the list of signs, and recognizes themselves. If that's you, this article is for you.

What did the BDA focus on this year?

The BDA's announcement describes a week about the parts of working life where dyslexic adults most often hit barriers: recruitment, communication, workplace systems, management, and access to adjustments. Its position is that dyslexia is lifelong, affecting job applications, workload management, and career progression, and that many barriers come from workplaces "not designed" for different ways of processing information rather than from the employee. Alongside the campaign, the BDA offered free webinars, including one titled "Dyslexia at work: practical tips to help you succeed," and a schools pack built around the message that an adjustment is "not an unfair advantage."

What did dyslexic adults tell the BDA?

In her October 5 post, Broomé cited a BDA survey of dyslexic adults. Nine in ten said their dyslexia reduces their confidence. More than four in five said people don't understand dyslexia's challenges and strengths. Over half said it has made them feel bad about themselves. The post doesn't give a sample size, so treat the figures as a snapshot of people who chose to respond rather than a national estimate. They echo a larger 2024 report from Dyslexia Scotland and the University of Glasgow, based on more than 1,400 adults, which found higher self-reported depression and anxiety among dyslexic respondents and argued that earlier identification in childhood could help prevent later difficulties.

Why does this matter for parents?

Dyslexia runs strongly in families. When a child is identified, it's common for a parent or grandparent to realize, often for the first time, that their own lifelong difficulty with spelling, reading aloud, or paperwork had a name. That recognition can be a relief and a jolt at once. It also changes how you advocate. A parent who struggles to read a 30-page IEP draft, or who dreads writing a formal letter to the school, isn't failing at advocacy; they're meeting the same barriers the BDA describes at work. The tools that help at work help here too.

What can a dyslexic parent do, at work and at home?

  1. Use text-to-speech for long documents. Have your phone or computer read IEP drafts, evaluation reports, and work policies aloud. Our article on audiobooks and listening access covers free options.
  2. Dictate instead of typing. Speech-to-text works for emails to teachers as well as work reports. See our guide to speech-to-text writing.
  3. Ask for documents in advance. At work and at school meetings, it's reasonable to ask for agendas and drafts a few days early so you can read at your own pace.
  4. Learn what accommodations exist. In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended in 2008, lists reading, learning, and thinking among major life activities, and the federally funded Job Accommodation Network (JAN) lists workplace accommodations for reading and writing difficulties. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, which can include dyslexic employees. This is general information, not legal advice.
  5. Consider an adult assessment. A formal assessment isn't required to use helpful tools, but it can support an accommodation request and bring clarity. Ask your doctor or a licensed psychologist about evaluation options.
  6. Share your story with your child, if it feels right. Hearing that a parent reads differently, and has a working life, can matter a great deal. Our guide to talking about dyslexia with your child has scripts.

What should you avoid?

  • Treating strengths as a reason to skip support. The BDA makes this point directly: strengths shouldn't be used to overlook barriers. You can be a strong problem-solver and still need text read aloud.
  • Assuming it's too late to matter. Adult identification won't change your school years, but it can change how you work, read, and advocate now.
  • Doing every school form alone. Bring a partner, friend, or advocate to IEP meetings, and ask the school to walk through key documents verbally.
  • Hiding the tools. Children notice how adults handle difficulty. Using text-to-speech openly teaches that tools are normal, not cheating.

Is an accommodation an unfair advantage?

The BDA's schools pack takes this question head on, and it's one parents hear at school too, sometimes from other parents, sometimes from a child's classmates. The BDA's answer is that adjustments remove barriers that shouldn't be there in the first place. "The aim of adjustments is not to give dyslexic employees an advantage," Broomé wrote. Extra time on a test, a text read aloud, or permission to dictate an essay doesn't change what is being measured when the skill being tested is understanding or reasoning rather than decoding speed. The same logic applies at work: a dyslexic accountant who uses text-to-speech still does the accounting. If you're explaining your own or your child's accommodations to someone skeptical, that framing (the tool removes a barrier, the work is still yours) is short and hard to argue with.

What's the bigger lesson from the UK campaign?

The BDA's theme is a reminder that dyslexia support shouldn't end at graduation, a point we made for teens in our guide to moving from IEP to the workplace. A child identified early learns that reading differently is a fact to plan around, not a verdict. Adults deserve the same framing. Identification is about unlocking support, at nine or at forty-nine.

Frequently asked questions

What was the theme of Dyslexia Awareness Week 2026? The British Dyslexia Association's Dyslexia Awareness Week, held October 5–11, 2026, was themed "Dyslexia in real life: At work." It focused on dyslexic adults' experiences with recruitment, communication, workplace systems, management, and access to adjustments, with free webinars and resources for employers and employees.

Can adults find out they have dyslexia? Yes. Many adults recognize dyslexia in themselves when their child is identified. An assessment by a qualified professional, such as a licensed psychologist, can confirm it. A formal diagnosis isn't needed to start using helpful tools like text-to-speech, but it can support requests for workplace accommodations.

Are dyslexic employees entitled to workplace accommodations? In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act can cover dyslexia when it substantially limits activities such as reading or learning, and employers must consider reasonable accommodations. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 can apply. Rules depend on individual circumstances, so this is general information, not legal advice.

Source: "Dyslexia Awareness Week 2026" (British Dyslexia Association, Sep 17, 2026) · "Dyslexia does not stop when school does" (Ellen Broomé, British Dyslexia Association, Oct 5, 2026) · "Towards a dyslexia-friendly Scotland?" report (Dyslexia Scotland and University of Glasgow, 2024) · "Learning Disability" accommodations (Job Accommodation Network) · "Reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions" (GOV.UK)