When Lia Chavda found out she was dyslexic at school, her experience was one of shame and exclusion. But entering the workplace as a degree apprentice, the culture of support she found at SSE has allowed her to reframe her experience and start an empowering and inspiring career journey. Now an IT Service Manager Analyst in Infrastructure and Operations, she is a passionate advocate for recognising both the power of difference and the importance of asking for the help you need to fulfil your potential…
How has your experience of dyslexia shaped your sense of self?
I was first tested for dyslexia in primary school, and I remember sitting around the dining table with my parents and bawling my eyes out because I felt noticeably different. My school was very white, and I was the only Asian there, so I already stuck out, and to have another label put on me as a kid felt really unfair. My school was great in terms of helping me when I needed it but that did also mean that I got taken out of class a lot — and because I was ‘different’ I got bullied. At secondary school, I told my dad that I didn’t want anyone to know I was dyslexic, so I pretended I wasn’t neurodivergent and just muddled through. I did a BTEC at college because I didn’t want to do exams anymore, but that early experience shaped my journey around being neurodivergent and so it was just something I never really spoke about.
What were your biggest concerns around entering the workplace with dyslexia?
My biggest concern was not getting a degree apprenticeship. I applied to at least 20 different apprenticeships, and I just wasn’t getting through, which I put down to being dyslexic. I didn’t want to say that I had a disability on my applications because I was still of the mindset that it wasn’t something anyone was ever going to be looking for. I’m on the mild-to-medium spectrum for dyslexia, so my challenges are more around spelling, grammar, and the pronunciation of words, but because of that, I can fall down the cracks. I’ve gotten away with it ‘til now, so I thought, why do I need to declare it at work? When I went for my assessment day at SSE part of it was a group activity where we had to read a document and I closed off at that point, because that was my worst fear. I was good at talking, so I played to that strength and just bluffed my way through it. But I was terrified because there was so much information that I needed to deliver back to the team, and I wondered what my colleagues would think if I couldn’t give them it. I got my apprenticeship here at SSE in 2017, and one of the HR managers who had looked at my university and school records came to me to confirm that I was dyslexic. I said I was, but I didn’t want people to know, and he said that was fine, but that SSE wanted to support me. And that’s where my dyslexia journey started to change. However, I was at SSE for four years before I really felt comfortable to mention my dyslexia openly.
How did working at SSE help you to see your neurodivergence in a different light?
The experience of coming into the workplace, trying to juggle so many things and ‘hide’ at the same time was a lot to deal with. Two of my placements were with my current manager, who knew that I was neurodivergent. He told me to let him know if there was anything that I didn’t want to do or that he could help me with, but at that point, I was still thinking, ‘I can do this. I can cope and be alright’. A massive point in my learning journey came about two years ago when a manager asked me to write a document for him. It was going to be used across the organisation and I kept putting it off. Eventually, he asked me why I was avoiding this document and I told him I couldn’t write it. That’s when I realised it was a fear and something that I had never really spoken about. I had a long conversation with him about the reasons why I had that fear and what SSE could do to support me. Having him help me reflect on my past opened a door for me to really begin to acknowledge it in myself.
How did that change the way that you saw yourself?
I began to understand that my dyslexia wasn’t something I should be scared of. At the virtual everywoman in Tech Conference, SSE had also established an in-house forum, SSE women in Tech, and joining that showed me all these women who were empowering one another. There were so many conversations going on around so many topics, from neurodiversity to menopause, that I felt comfortable to say, ‘I am dyslexic’ and to ask, ‘Is there anything you can help me with?’ Some of the women there also had children with dyslexia, so they understood what I was going through. Having my manager on one side and everywoman on the other gave me a safe space to talk openly, one where I could say I don’t know who to go to or what to do.
What can people with dyslexia bring to the workplace?
It’s about a different way of thinking. I’ve just started as an IT service manager, and I keep looking at it through my lens and asking random questions and the team will say, ‘Well we didn’t think about that’. When you’re neurodivergent, your brain works differently. The world is opening up to a greater appreciation of neurodiversity and realising the potential and talent that is out there and the benefit of those who are neurodivergent asking, ‘Why do I see it in this way?’ We’re in a phase of change now which is allowing different people to work together to see how we can create a bigger vision from lots of different perspectives.
What do people with dyslexia need from employers in the workplace?
I don’t think there is a specific answer because everyone is so different and works so differently. What’s been helpful and useful to me is to access different ways of working. I’m currently going through the process of looking at what is out there in terms of software and systems that can help me, and will pass that on to colleagues that have opened up to me about having dyslexia or being neurodivergent. Generally, though I’d say, talk to someone that you can trust and feel comfortable with to understand what is out there to help in your role. It starts with the conversation.
Is it important for neurodivergent people to become more visible to create awareness?
Each month we have town hall meetings with the whole of our IT teams and we’ve also started an inclusion diversity working group, for which we have also interviewed our leadership team. The first thing I said, when I got up in front of everyone at the town hall to speak about it was ‘I’m dyslexic, and it’s okay’, which felt powerful. Afterward I had people messaging me to say how glad they were I had opened up and asking if they could come and chat with me about being dyslexic. It’s important if you are comfortable talking about neurodiversity, that you do so. And if you want that support, that you know it is there. Speaking up makes a massive difference in how you feel, the support you get and how willing people are to help you.
What do you wish you’d done sooner — and how can dyslexia inspire your journey in the future?
The biggest thing that affected me as a child was being bullied and outnumbered. I would have told my younger self not to worry and that dyslexia doesn’t change who you are. But at the same time, going on this journey has made me who I am today, so I’m grateful for what I went through as a kid in some ways. In terms of my future work journey now, I was inspired when Richard Branson posted on LinkedIn about being dyslexic earlier this year. LinkedIn has now listed dyslexia as a skill, and I’ve changed my profile to reflect this. I would now also put it on my CV when I apply for future roles, because it is a skill, and it has benefited me more than I had realised. I now feel confident enough to declare it — and to see where it takes me.
