Dyslexia: An examination of the experiences and perceptions of members of Dorset Police who are dyslexic

This thesis uses a single-case study design to provide a qualitative, in-depth exploration of the experiences and perceptions of five dyslexic officers in Dorset Police. The author has used the term ‘officer’ to mean any person employed by Dorset Police. Dyslexia continues to be an area for academic research, however, at the time of this research project (2020-2022), there did not appear to be any published research relating to the experiences and perceptions of members of Dorset Police, who had been assessed as being dyslexic.

This thesis draws on the social model of disability and details an action research methodology, to provide a qualitative, in-depth biographical exploration of selected members of Dorset Police. The author acknowledges that there may be problems involved, such as validity and interpretation of data, but action research is advantageous for studies of social change, and as a means towards understanding variations within a society or in this case Dorset Police. Furthermore, the author will discuss key areas such as dyslexia, reasonable adjustment, coping strategies, and legislation. Also, that for the members of Dorset Police assessed as being dyslexic, a significant issue arose concerning the lack of dyslexia training for trainers, supervision and managers. Therefore, this area of research is considered a fertile ground, deriving from a combination of professional practice, and the researchers’ individual reflectiveness . This research also intends to promote democratic change and collaborative participation by adding to the current range of academic knowledge of dyslexia. The in-depth nature of the action research is assisted by the ‘insider/outsider position of the researcher and this positionality is viewed as an ongoing process constantly evolving throughout the research, analysis of documentation, and policy, incorporating five semi-structured biographical interviews.

This research takes it’s direction from an ethnographic qualitative and exploratory strategy, to gain an insight into the participants experiences and perceptions of their dyslexia, together with an overview of their past. Analysis of the interviews is carried out through a hermeneutic biographical methodology that explores a discourse of dyslexia, so that contextualisation of difficulties are understood. The process of identifying such experiences and perceptions is bolstered by an application of expansive-restrictive framework which then works to support recommendations.

The five volunteer dyslexic officers who participated in the research provided a rich vein of data. Importantly, not all of the participants reported negative experiences of primary and secondary school education, but clearly for some, opportunities of assessment had been missed. This contrasted with the largely positive experiences of being a dyslexic member of Dorset Police. Some of the officers showed indications of dyslexia at school, while some were diagnosed as being dyslexic in adulthood. A diagnosis of dyslexia did not come as a surprise to the officers, and for some it was a relief knowing that their self-perception of being unintelligent had been incorrect, as for many years, those that were assessed later on in life, had been affected by low self-esteem, anxiety and stress, over a period of many years.

Many of the officers had talents and abilities, for example; exceptional work ethics; creativity and imagination; developing and utilising coping strategies, in order to achieve a level playing field. The participants were self- aware, intelligent and articulate. My realisation of the dyslexia debate, is that there is nothing to fix; a dyslexic person is not broken. Dyslexia is very complex and unique to the individual, and I see now that it is society that needs fixing, and even though processes are in place within Dorset Police, dyslexia appears to be poorly identified and managed in many areas of the organisation, with heavy reliance on trained volunteers to conduct assessments on an ad hoc arrangement rather than adopting a more professional approach to the phenomenon, by recognising that dyslexia is a real issue that requires real solutions in supporting those officers who are identified as being dyslexic. Those officers that had received support early on in their lives were better equipped to face the rigors of policing while others, given the appropriate support and encouragement achieved high levels of professional ability, in their chosen field.