by Edward Murphy, Psy.D.
Director, BMR Psychology Associates

It is estimated there are 2.9 million adults who have diagnosed learning disabilities. It is thought that nearly 5% of all adults suffer from some form of a learning disability (LD), many of whom are not properly diagnosed. The learning difficulties do not end in the classroom, but they tend to carryover into the workplace. Success at work depends upon recognition and understanding of your weaknesses and creating an organized, efficient strategy to emphasize your strengths. Below is a list of common work problems encountered with learning disability and recommendations for overcoming these obstacles:

Common LD Work Problems:

• Inefficiency: Do you take longer than your co-workers to accomplish a task? This may cause low productivity on the job. It also can be frustrating for you, particularly if co-workers make jokes about it.

• High Error Rate with Tasks Involving Academic Skills: Do you have trouble writing memos, taking messages, reading instructions, filling out forms and making changes? Do you try to avoid these tasks? You may get embarrassed when your boss or co-workers have to correct your errors.

• Problems Learning a Sequence of Tasks: Is it hard for you to learn a task that has multiple steps? Do you find that, sometimes, you know all the steps, but you don't perform them in the right order? This can cause a high error rate and low productivity on the job.

• Time Management: Do you have trouble being on time? Do you find that you're often late to work or meetings? Do you just as frequently arrive extremely early? Do you have trouble planning ahead? This can get in the way of your meeting deadlines.

• Social Skills: Do you have difficulty meeting people, working with others, engaging in small talk, and making friends? This can create problems among work teams. More and more jobs in today's workplace require teams of employees to work together on different projects. This means that members of the team make an effort to get along so that they work well together.

Strengths You Bring to the Job:

• Persistence: Do you find that, long after your co-workers have given up on a problem, you are still working on it? Your boss may appreciate your interest, dedication, and loyalty to the company.

• Creativity: Are you the person at work who often comes up with the creative solutions to problems? Your work team may come to rely on you more and more as the "idea person."

• Specialized Talents: Do you have a highly developed strength or talent, such as drawing and design, public speaking, or fixing things? You may have developed this strength to compensate for your disability. Your bosses and co-workers will come to you when there's a task that you can do better than anyone else.

Understanding Your Strengths
 
To succeed in the workplace in spite of having LD, it's important that you work at a job that is a good fit for you. You can determine if a job is a good fit by looking at the responsibilities of the job and making sure they match your strengths. For example, if you are good at working with people but not good at writing reports, you may enjoy being a tour guide, a physical therapist, or a receptionist. If you have artistic talents but have trouble counting money and making change, you might consider a career in graphic arts.

It is never too late to get help for a learning disability. Finding out about a learning disability can be a great relief to adults who could not explain the reason for their struggles in the past. Testing specialists are available for people of all ages, and assistance is available for every stage of life. Taking the initiative to seek out support and services than can provide help is the first step to overcoming a learning disability.

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