Just to add that I feel the PACT team could and should be encouraged to
consider any support a disabled person requires in employment in
connection with a disability as fundable under the Access to Work
scheme, which would include additional administration support for
dyslexic people.  

Of course present legislation requires that the employer foots part of
the bill and so any disabled person entering the job market on declaring
their disability and subsequent needs are placing a price on their heads
which other non disabled applicants would not have, this came as a
direct result of the DDA, this was not a requirement before. This is
what we are all very cross about - to say the least! And why the DDA is
met with derision by disabled people as it can be shown that it is an
act to support us which, in this very significant way, actually works
against us and makes us less 'desirable' as employees.

We are currently discussing and looking at the transition from FE to HE,
I believe there are some real 'gaps' in the transition from HE to
employment (and FE to employment come to that) there is a great lack of
understanding by disabled people about their rights and responsibilities
as a prospective employee.

Chris Baxter

>----------
>From: 	Karen Ball[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: 	11 December 1998 15:16
>To: 	[log in to unmask]
>Subject: 	Re: Disability and employment
>
> I assessed a dyslexic client two years ago:  he graduated and got a job as a
>surveyor with a large company.  He did not mention his dyslexia to anyone and
>decided he would "manage".   Sadly he could not.  He found it virtually 
>impossible to produce a report and, rather than discussing it or asking for 
>assistance he ducked and dived until after a couple of months the employer 
>sacked him.   [I heard through his girlfriend, who contacted me in a panic].
>He 
>may well have been eligible for special equipment [although support is iffy,
>as 
>the employer would have to fund it, because it is treated by the Employment 
>Service like training] through Access to Work on the grounds of his
>disability, 
>but would have to have disclosed his dyslexia.  Some employers are, of 
>course, more open than others but I think he would have stood a better chance
>of keeping his job, once he had got it, if there had been some awareness of
>his 
>needs and he'd had a support system in place.   It's often possible to
>negotiate 
>with the employer as long as it's not too long "after the event" but much
>easier 
>when they haven't been rubbed up the wrong way!
>
>Whether this chap would have got the job in the first place, or even been 
>interviewed if he had said he is dyslexic on his CV, no-one can say.
>However, 
>if the employer is a "two ticks" symbol subscriber and the applicant states
>they 
>have a disability, they will be guaranteed an interview if they fulfil the
>minimum 
>criteria for the job.  
>
>I feel, therefore, that "disclosure" is - at the very least - advisable.  DDA
>and the 
>Disability Symbol require fairness on both sides.
>
>
>
>
>
>Organization:   	University of Teesside
>Date sent:      	Fri, 11 Dec 1998 12:34:57 +0000
>Priority:       	normal
>Subject:        	Disability and employment
>From:           	"Claire Dowling" <[log in to unmask]>
>To:             	[log in to unmask]
>Send reply to:  	[log in to unmask]
>
>I was talking to a student today who is considering being assessed 
>to see if he is dyslexic. He asked me a question that I am often 
>asked but do not know the conclusive answer to. Do you have to 
>declare on a job application form if you are dyslexic ?  
>Does any one know the answer? obviously I told him about the DDA and 
>discussed the wider issues of discrimination in employment and that 
>the employer may want to offer support but can not do this if they do 
>not know. 
>Can any one offer an answer as I think this is becoming an 
>increasing issue, particularly for final year students. 
>
>Claire Dowling
>Student Adviser, Disabilities and Specific Learning Difficulties
>University of Teesside
>Borough Road
>Middlesbrough 
>Karen Ball
>ACCESS Centre
>The Royal National College for the Blind
>College Road
>HEREFORD
>HR1 1EB
>
>Tel:   01432 265725
>Fax:   01432 353478
>email: [log in to unmask]
>


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