Fear of Humiliation in the Workplace

People with learning disabilities find creative ways to write, check and recheck their email content because they “don’t want to make mistakes and embarrass [themselves] in the workplace.”

How many devices, websites, software and plugins does it take to write one email?
2 Devices + 7 websites, software and plugins if you have a learning disability

How long does it take to write an email?
On average, 30 seconds to 5 minutes

How long does it take for someone with Dyslexia to write an email?
Hours

Many users typically take 30 seconds to 5 minutes to compose an email using an email application. However, for individuals with learning disabilities, such as Dyslexia, it can take hours and involve the use of multiple devices, platforms, plugins, and software.

This is because people with learning disabilities, especially Dyslexia, require assistance with comprehension and not just spelling and grammar,

One user explained, “After I’ve written an email, I must double- or triple-check it before sending it. If it’s a long email, I write it in a word processor first and then copy and paste it.”

Pivoit and Focus

Admittedly, this project followed a more traditional design process, but it included several pivots, especially during the research, ideation, and testing stages. These pivots focused on narrowing the scope to a more defined user base and emphasizing an MVP.

From the outset, I anticipated that research would be challenging due to the global pandemic, which limited access to specific user types.

To overcome this, I utilized various social media platforms to reach the target users. Because of the pandemic's impact, the initial hypothesis missed the mark. Consequently, research methods had to adapt and evolve to accommodate the users available for testing and surveying.

More, please!

After conducting multiple rounds and types of quantitative and qualitative research, the user was defined as someone with Dyslexia who needed the most accessibility tools within the text editing software.

The conclusion was the need was for a comprehensive, accessible way for people to read, write, and spell by leveraging Assistive Technologies (AT) customizable technology for adults with Dyslexia to speed up their ability to write.”

In both data sets, dyslexic users and mainstream users identified the following Assistive Technologies for a web-based application to leverage

1. Spellcheck

2. Grammar check

3. Built-in word prediction

4. Text-to-speech

5. Dictation

Customize

Many users typically take 30 seconds to 5 minutes to compose an email using an email application. However, for individuals with learning disabilities, such as Dyslexia, it can take hours and involve the use of multiple devices, platforms, plugins, and software.

This is because people with learning disabilities, especially Dyslexia, require assistance with comprehension and not just spelling and grammar,

One user explained, “After I’ve written an email, I must double- or triple-check it before sending it. If it’s a long email, I write it in a word processor first and then copy and paste it.”