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Abstract
Suitable career counseling for people who have dyslexia, especially at times of transition, can assist a person to find their niche in life. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the current literature relating to the occupational success of individuals who have learning disabilities, potential barriers and how these can be overcome through the development of selfunderstanding and effective disclosure, as well as inform models of career counseling. In the United Kingdom dyslexia is understood to be much more than a reading disability. It is more akin to what would be referred to elsewhere as a learning disability or specific learning difficulty. Throughout this article these terms will be used interchangeably, but essentially dyslexia here refers to a syndrome that has "an impact on verbal, as well as written communication, organization, time management, planning and adaptation to change" (Mcloughlin & Leather, 2013, p. 28). These are all domains that need to be addressed if individuals are to be successful in life and employment.
Transitions
Everyone faces a series of transitions; that is, life changes to which we have to adjust. A transition is a process of change over time (Colley, 2007, p. 428). The transition individuals face when moving from school to work is one that educationalists recognize, but there is not enough acknowledgment of how demanding this can be for individuals who have specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia. It has been suggested that we need to understand transitions within the context of life course rather than life cycle. The former acknowledging that life and career trajectories have become less linear and more fragmented, and avoiding the perception of those who do not fit into staged models as being deficient (Colley, 2007). This would certainly seem relevant to people who have dyslexia, as some do not follow typical educational and career paths, their development being less linear than it is for others.
In the workplace the demand on independent learning skills, self-confidence and the ability to absorb new information, understandjob tasks, work culture and procedures is considerable. In the twenty first century dealing with constant change is a key aspect of any occupation; in-service trainingjob redefinition, promotion to higher levels of ajob, moving from one department to...