Dear Reader,
This week marks Dyspraxia Awareness Week, making it the perfect time to explore one of the most misunderstood yet valuable forms of neurodivergence in our workplaces. Affecting 5-6% of the population, or approximately 1 in 20 people, dyspraxia represents a significant talent pool that many organisations are inadvertently excluding through poorly designed processes and misconceptions about capability.
What makes dyspraxia particularly fascinating from a workplace perspective is the "spiky profile" it creates: exceptional strengths in areas like creative problem-solving, big-picture thinking, and relationship-building, alongside specific challenges that, with the right support, become completely manageable. Yet research suggests that many dyspraxic adults remain undiagnosed, having spent years developing remarkable compensation strategies that mask their difficulties whilst amplifying their natural abilities.
As we mark this awareness week, the question isn't just how we support known dyspraxic employees - it's how we create environments where undiagnosed dyspraxic talent can thrive and contribute their unique perspectives to our teams.
The numbers presented tell a story of extraordinary potential being systematically overlooked, while highlighting the urgent need for organisations to bridge the gap between awareness and meaningful action.
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What's the Reality for Dyspraxic Talent?
Dyspraxia - officially known as Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) - is far more than the "clumsy child syndrome" stereotype suggests. While it does affect motor coordination and planning, its workplace impact extends into executive functioning, organisation, processing speed, and information management. Crucially, it's completely unrelated to intelligence, with many dyspraxic individuals being highly intelligent and academically gifted.
The challenge lies in recognition and understanding. Many adults discover they're dyspraxic only when their children are diagnosed, having spent decades attributing their struggles to personal failings rather than neurological differences. Women are particularly underdiagnosed, often developing sophisticated masking strategies that hide their difficulties whilst creating significant mental exhaustion.
Dyspraxic individuals frequently excel as systems thinkers, naturally seeing connections and patterns others miss. They're innovative problem-solvers, approaching challenges from unconventional angles when traditional methods fail. Many individuals develop exceptional empathy and emotional intelligence, possibly as a result of years of navigating their own challenges.
They often become natural storytellers and communicators, excelling in verbal presentations despite struggling with written tasks. In workplaces, individuals with dyspraxia frequently become the team members who ask the crucial "why" questions, challenging assumptions and identifying more efficient approaches.
However, traditional recruitment processes often screen out these talents. Timed written assessments disadvantage candidates who think brilliantly but process differently. Interview formats that prioritise quick responses miss individuals whose insights emerge with processing time. Handwriting-heavy application processes exclude candidates who could transform your organisation but struggle with fine motor coordination.
The accommodation reality is surprisingly straightforward. Most workplace adjustments for dyspraxic employees cost nothing, including providing written instructions alongside verbal ones, allowing for processing time before meetings, supporting task sequencing, and enabling flexible working arrangements. These "accommodations" often improve productivity for entire teams, not just dyspraxic individuals.
Stories from the workplace
This reminds me of Sarah (name changed), a brilliant strategic thinker I worked with who spent years believing she was "just disorganised." She'd developed incredible workaround systems - colour-coded calendars, detailed project breakdowns, voice recording for capturing ideas - without realising these were dyspraxia adaptations.
When her team was struggling with a complex multi-stakeholder project that had defeated several attempts, Sarah suggested a completely different approach. Instead of the traditional linear project plan, she proposed mapping all stakeholders visually, identifying relationship patterns, and creating multiple parallel workstreams that could adapt dynamically.
Her colleagues initially worried this was too complicated, but Sarah's big-picture thinking had identified that the previous failures weren't due to poor execution - they were due to misunderstanding the system they were trying to change. Her approach succeeded brilliantly, delivering results that traditional project management had failed to achieve.
The revelation came when Sarah mentioned she'd always approached problems this way because "normal" sequential planning never made sense to her brain. What she'd experienced as a limitation - difficulty with linear organisation - had actually developed into her greatest professional strength: systems thinking that could solve complex, interconnected challenges.
Once her manager understood Sarah's working style, small adjustments transformed her productivity. Meeting agendas sent in advance let her process information beforehand. Written project briefs supplemented verbal instructions. Regular check-ins helped with prioritisation without micromanaging. These changes cost nothing but unlocked Sarah's full potential whilst improving team communication generally.
This perfectly illustrates the dyspraxic paradox: what appears as weakness in traditional structures often represents strength in disguise, waiting for the right environment to emerge.
Introducing the Neurodiversity Recruitment Conference 2025 - Transform Your Hiring, Unlock Hidden Talent
Are you ready to revolutionise your recruitment strategy and tap into the incredible potential of neurodivergent talent?
Join Marc Crawley (experienced recruiter from Hays) and myself (founder of PegSquared and former leader of EY's award-winning Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence) for the UK's first dedicated Neurodiversity Recruitment Conference on November 13th, 2025.
This virtual, CPD-accredited event delivers a full day of actionable strategies, real-world case studies, and practical frameworks to help you remove invisible barriers, redesign your recruitment process, and successfully attract, assess, and retain neurodivergent talent. With interactive sessions covering everything from job attraction to onboarding, plus exclusive access to senior HR leaders sharing breakthrough success stories, this isn't just another awareness session - it's your roadmap to competitive advantage through neuro-inclusive hiring.
Early bird tickets just £375 (+VAT) until October 18th (£500 + VAT thereafter).
If you are an individual or a not-for-profit organisation wanting to attend, or if you would like multiple tickets, please send an email to tania@pegsquared.co.uk for details on discounted tickets.
One change for immediate action
Become a dyspraxia ally through active advocacy.
This week, practice one simple behaviour: when you notice a colleague struggling with organisation, coordination, or processing speed, resist the urge to offer personal advice ("you should try being more organised") and instead offer practical, judgement-free support.
Ask "Would it help if I shared my notes from that meeting?" rather than "Did you take notes?" Suggest "Shall we map this project out visually together?" instead of "You need to get more organised." When someone needs extra processing time, create space rather than pressure.
Most importantly, challenge assumptions when you hear them. If someone describes a colleague as "disorganised" or "slow," gently reframe: "They might just process information differently" or "Their approach often leads to really innovative solutions."
With 1 in 20 people being dyspraxic, your advocacy matters. Many of your highest-performing colleagues may be working twice as hard to appear "normal" while contributing exceptional value through different thinking styles. Your allyship can reduce that burden and unlock their full potential.
And finally, a question for you?
Thinking about your highest-performing team members, do you have colleagues who approach problems from completely different angles, ask questions others don't think to ask, or excel at seeing connections across complex systems? How might understanding dyspraxia change how you recognise and develop talent?
Reply to share thoughts - I'm particularly interested in examples of team members whose working styles initially seemed challenging but ultimately proved invaluable, and how small adjustments unlocked their potential.
See you next week!
Tania
FIVE ways you can work with me:
- Neuro-inclusive Recruitment Audit: Understand what practical steps you can take to ensure your recruitment process is inclusive for all.
- Training: From line managers to leaders, global HR teams to recruitment, awareness sessions to champion training.
- Consultancy: Policy writing, process redesign, reviewing neurodiversity materials, data, ERG launches - anything neurodiversity at work related!
- Coaching: One-to-one coaching to help support an individual navigate the world of work as someone who is neurodivergent
- Speaking: From a fireside chat to a keynote, podcast guest to panellist
Reply to this email to find out more!
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