Dyslexia in Nursing: What Reasonable Adjustments Look Like in Practice

Dyslexic nurses bring methodical procedural attention, careful adaptive practice, and the kind of detailed self-monitoring that often produces more reliable documentation than less intentional approaches. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (DDA), Australian employers must make reasonable adjustments (changes to the work environment or how work is done) to enable employees with disability to do their job, unless doing so would cause unjustifiable hardship. The unjustifiable hardship bar is set high — it is not met simply because an adjustment takes effort or money. For nurses with the neurocognitive profile of dyslexia, this law creates concrete obligations that many healthcare employers have not yet put into consistent practice.

What Reasonable Adjustments Look Like

The adjustments that are reasonable for a dyslexic nurse will depend on their specific needs and clinical context, but the research with nurses and doctors identifies several types that are commonly useful (Illingworth, 2005; Locke et al., 2017; Crouch, 2019; Butler, 2024). Access to assistive technology — text-to-speech tools or dyslexia-friendly font settings in documentation platforms — can meaningfully reduce cognitive load. Extended time to orient to a new clinical area or electronic system, dyslexia-accessible written materials, and clear, predictable handover formats all require relatively little organisational resource but can make a significant difference.

Access to a quiet space for tasks requiring sustained concentration — writing notes, reviewing drug charts, or handling complex patient correspondence — is a low-cost, high-impact adjustment frequently identified in the research (Illingworth, 2005; Crouch, 2019). The common thread is not complexity or expense; it is that these adjustments address the specific points where clinical systems and dyslexic processing styles are most likely to clash. Setting-sensitive accommodations — embedded in workplace design rather than negotiated case by case — move the burden of adaptation back to where it belongs.

The Process Needs to Be Proactive

A well-designed adjustment process does not wait for an employee to report a problem. It creates space during onboarding, induction, and regular review for staff to identify needs before they become crises. In most healthcare workplaces, the opposite is true: adjustment processes only activate after a nurse has already disclosed a difficulty, often under pressure. This places the entire burden on the individual nurse — who must also navigate the real risks of disclosure before any support can be put in place. The adaptive labour of working around poor system design is structurally misplaced when it falls on the nurse.

The adjustment conversation should be led by the nurse’s own knowledge of what works. Adjustments chosen by managers based on assumptions about dyslexia — rather than on what the nurse actually needs — are less likely to help and more likely to feel patronising. If an adjustment request is refused without adequate justification, a complaint can be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission or the relevant state or territory anti-discrimination body. Union representation, including through the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), can help clarify options before that point is reached.

The legal framework that creates these obligations is covered in Reasonable Adjustments in Nursing: What Australian Law Actually Requires. For practical guidance on making the request, see How to Ask for Reasonable Adjustments as a Neurodivergent Nurse.

References

Illingworth, K. (2005). The effects of dyslexia on the work of nurses and healthcare assistants. Nursing Standard, 19(38), 41–48.

Locke, R., Alexander, G., Mann, R., Kibble, S., & Scallan, S. (2017). Doctors with dyslexia: strategies and support. The Clinical Teacher, 14, 355–359.

Crouch, A.T. (2019). Perceptions of the possible impact of dyslexia on nursing and midwifery students and of the coping strategies they develop and/or use to help them cope in clinical practice. Nurse Education in Practice, 35, 90–97.

Butler, S. (2024). Nurses with dyslexia: overcoming challenges and thriving in the profession. British Journal of Nursing, 33(15), 694–698.

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).

This post contains general information only and does not constitute legal, medical, or professional advice. Information is accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge at the time of publication. For advice specific to your situation, please consult an appropriately qualified professional.