Factors influencing work participation of adults with developmental dyslexia: a systematic review

BMC Public Health, Jan 2014

Background Evidence has been synthesized to determine hindering and facilitating factors associated with the work participation of adults with developmental dyslexia (DD), classified according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods A systematic literature review has been performed. Two search strings were used to determine the population and the context of work. The ICF was expanded with two subdivisions: one that made the environmental factors more work-related and a subdivision of personal factors. For data extraction the method known as qualitative metasummary was used and the manifest frequency effect size (MFES) for each category in the ICF was calculated. Results From 33 included studies 318 factors have been extracted and classified in the ICF. In the classification the frequency of occurrences and the consistency in direction (i.e., hindering or facilitating) have been made visible. The ICF categories with the highest MFES were mental functions with factors like feelings and emotions about dyslexia; activities like reading or writing/spelling; participation with factors like acquiring and keeping a job; social relationships at work where the attitudes and support of the employer and co-workers are important; working conditions with factors like the availability of assistive technology and accommodations on the job; and personal factors like self-disclosure and coping strategies. Conclusions In the context of work DD affects nearly all domains of functioning, mostly in a negative way. Within each domain the impact of DD increases over the course of life. To overcome that negative influence, many forms of adaptation, compensation, or coping are mentioned. Also notable is the lack of positive attitudes toward DD of the participants with DD—with the exception of the attitudes of teachers with DD—as well as on the part of colleagues, supervisors, and employers.

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Factors influencing work participation of adults with developmental dyslexia: a systematic review

BMC Public Health Factors influencing work participation of adults with developmental dyslexia: a systematic review Joost de Beer 0 Josephine Engels 0 Yvonne Heerkens 0 Jac van der Klink 1 0 Department Occupation & Health, HAN University of Applied Sciences , Nijmegen , The Netherlands 1 Department of Health Sciences/Community and Occupational Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands Background: Evidence has been synthesized to determine hindering and facilitating factors associated with the work participation of adults with developmental dyslexia (DD), classified according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: A systematic literature review has been performed. Two search strings were used to determine the population and the context of work. The ICF was expanded with two subdivisions: one that made the environmental factors more work-related and a subdivision of personal factors. For data extraction the method known as qualitative metasummary was used and the manifest frequency effect size (MFES) for each category in the ICF was calculated. Results: From 33 included studies 318 factors have been extracted and classified in the ICF. In the classification the frequency of occurrences and the consistency in direction (i.e., hindering or facilitating) have been made visible. The ICF categories with the highest MFES were mental functions with factors like feelings and emotions about dyslexia; activities like reading or writing/spelling; participation with factors like acquiring and keeping a job; social relationships at work where the attitudes and support of the employer and co-workers are important; working conditions with factors like the availability of assistive technology and accommodations on the job; and personal factors like self-disclosure and coping strategies. Conclusions: In the context of work DD affects nearly all domains of functioning, mostly in a negative way. Within each domain the impact of DD increases over the course of life. To overcome that negative influence, many forms of adaptation, compensation, or coping are mentioned. Also notable is the lack of positive attitudes toward DD of the participants with DD-with the exception of the attitudes of teachers with DD-as well as on the part of colleagues, supervisors, and employers. Adult; ICF; Developmental dyslexia; Work participation - Background Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a disorder that affects reading and spelling development. DD is usually associated with impairments in phonological processing, verbal processing speed and verbal short-term memory [1,2]. It makes reading and spelling difficult for children who otherwise possess the intelligence and motivation considered necessary for accurate and fluent reading [3]. Children with DD develop weak literacy skills; hence, its great impact on education. In the course of children's development the range of difficulties becomes wider: besides problems in cognitive functioning, like trouble with reading, spelling, memory, and word finding, some executive difficulties arise, such as clumsiness, problems in organizing activities, and poor time management [4]. Experiencing these difficulties will affect the self-image and self-awareness of children and adolescents with DD, although they could also become persevering and goaldriven [5]. Whatever their reaction, young people with DD develop a variety of coping strategies and adaptation mechanisms that may account for individual differences as adults [4]. It is known that 80% of the children and adolescents identified as having learning disabilities have DD [3]. In both a Dutch and an American population-based study the prevalence of DD among children at the end of their primary education is about 45% [6,7]. These percentages reflect the prevalence rates from 211% mentioned in the International Book of Dyslexia [8], in which a short description of dyslexia in 54 countries is given. The figures mentioned above are indicative because it is very difficult to find exact prevalence figures about adults with DD and because these figures are strongly related to the definition of learning disabilities/developmental dyslexia that has been chosen, and from which the criteria used to construct the prevalence rates are extracted. Despite difficulties, most young adults with DD enter the labor market after completing their school careers. In the past two decades the educational possibilities for children and adolescents with DD have been improved through assistive technology, by giving them extra time, and other adaptations, like recorded textbooks or a bigger font [5]. At work, however, these improvements are not so obvious as in education. More and more generally well-educated young people who have learned to cope with DD within the context of support and adaptations enter a workplace that is not as well prepared for employees with DD as educational institutions ar (...truncated)


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Joost de Beer, Josephine Engels, Yvonne Heerkens, Jac van der Klink. Factors influencing work participation of adults with developmental dyslexia: a systematic review, BMC Public Health, 2014, pp. 77, 14, DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-77