Dyslexia Awareness Week runs 5 to 11 October 2026. The British Dyslexia Association has chosen "Dyslexia in real life: At work" as its theme (BDA, checked September 2026).

Expect an email from HR or a wellbeing channel in the next few days. It may invite dyslexic staff to share their stories, or ask managers to "show support". Your name could be in the frame before you've decided what anyone should know.

This is a disclosure decision, and it comes in three sizes: HR only, the people who need to know, or the whole team. Each has a different legal footing and a different cost. Here's how they compare.

What your employer can and can't say for you

UK data protection guidance is clear on the default. The ICO says you "should not normally need to disclose a worker's health information with other workers, beyond those who genuinely need the information to carry out their roles" (ICO guidance on sharing workers' health information, checked September 2026).

The same guidance allows wider sharing if a worker has freely consented. So nobody in HR gets to announce your dyslexia at an awareness event, in a team meeting or in a Slack thread without asking you first.

US law works on the same idea. The ADA requires employers to keep medical information in separate confidential files (42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(3)(B)). Supervisors can be told about work restrictions and accommodations, which covers what they must do to support you.

So what for you: you hold the switch. Anything beyond "those who need to know" happens only if you say yes.

Option one: HR only

This is the quietest route. You tell HR in writing, they record it, and your legal protection starts working. In the UK that means your employer knows, so the duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 is live. In the US it starts the interactive process under the ADA.

The catch is practical. HR can't change how your manager runs meetings or sends briefs. If your manager doesn't hear about the adjustment, you end up explaining it again every time it slips.

HR-only works when your adjustment is technical and invisible, such as software or extra time on a test. It fails when the fix depends on how other people behave.

So what for you: HR-only is a good first step and a poor finishing point.

Option two: HR, your manager, and the people who touch the adjustment

This is the tier most dyslexic people end up wanting. HR gets the written record, and your manager gets the "what I need" list. Anyone whose work feeds into yours, such as the colleague who sends you the weekly figures, gets one sentence about the format you work best with.

The timing matters more than usual right now. Access to Work took an average of 100.5 days to process applications between April 2025 and January 2026, against a 25 working day target, and 66,700 applications were outstanding in February 2026 (House of Commons Library, June 2026). Until that support lands, the fixes that work are the ones your manager and team can make this week: an agenda a day early, a written follow-up after meetings, a reading buffer before sign-off.

You can also use the Access to Work calculator to see what support you could ask for while you wait. The disclosure guide covers the UK and US paperwork for this tier.

So what for you: this is the tier where disclosure starts changing your working days. It's the default I'd choose.

What your manager needs to hear

Most managers freeze when they hear "dyslexia", because they fear saying the wrong thing. Give them a job. Tell them the two or three changes you want, and when you'd like them to start.

Ask for a date to review how it's going, such as four weeks out. A review date turns an awkward disclosure into a trial with an end point, and it gives you a natural moment to add or drop items. Keep your own note of what was agreed, and send it back as a short recap email.

So what for you: a manager with a clear task and a review date is far more useful than a manager who is merely "supportive".

Option three: the whole team

Telling everyone can pay off. A team that understands why you want the agenda in advance stops reading it as fussiness. Some dyslexic people find the secrecy heavier than the disclosure.

It also can't be undone. Once a story is in a team meeting, it's in every future project, reference and rumour. You lose the ability to choose who hears what, and you lose it in a room you don't control.

The fear behind this decision is old and well recorded. In a 2007 survey of 103 dyslexic people by the BDA and Business Link for London, 45% felt unable to disclose to their employer, and worry about their workplace image was among the top reasons (Personnel Today, March 2007). The sample is small and the survey is nearly twenty years old, but the reasons still sound familiar.

If someone treats you badly after you tell them, the law does cover you. In the UK, unwanted conduct related to disability that violates your dignity can be harassment under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. Both UK and US law protect you from harassment, but neither stops the raised eyebrow.

So what for you: go wide only when you've chosen the audience, the wording and the moment yourself.

What Awareness Week changes

Your rights stay the same, and the pressure goes up. Your employer will run events, and there will be an unspoken sense that dyslexic staff should step up. Taking part is voluntary in both countries.

You have four ways to take part. Attend and say nothing. Share a resource, such as the BDA's campaign page, without saying anything about yourself. Talk to your manager privately. Or speak publicly, if you've decided that's right.

One trap is worth naming. A "share your story" call can feel like an invitation to disclose to everyone at once, with HR and your manager hearing it in the same room as your team. If you haven't told HR in writing yet, don't let a group event be the first time your employer hears it.

So what for you: sequence matters. The written record comes first, and the event comes second.

The call

Tell HR in writing this week, and tell your manager the same day. Say what you need. Then decide about the wider team once the adjustments are running and you know how your manager responds.

A workable message is short. "I'm dyslexic, and I work best when I get meeting agendas a day early and key decisions confirmed in writing. Could we agree that from next week?" It names the need, the fix and the date.

If you've already told a colleague, that's fine. Telling a peer generally isn't the same as telling your employer, so send the written version to HR or your manager as well. Keep the sent email.

If your employer shares your diagnosis without asking, raise it with HR in writing straight away. In the UK, you can contact ACAS, and the ICO handles data protection complaints. In the US, contact the EEOC or the Job Accommodation Network.

So what for you: this week, write the two-sentence message, and send it before any awareness event happens.

More decisions like this one sit in the articles archive. If you're not sure how to phrase a request, the reasonable adjustments builder drafts one for you.