{"id":10940,"date":"2023-08-24T18:38:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T18:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/leadership\/texthelp-executives-talk-powermypotential-marketing-campaign-neurodiversity-tech-more-in-new-interview\/"},"modified":"2023-08-24T18:38:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T18:38:06","slug":"texthelp-executives-talk-powermypotential-marketing-campaign-neurodiversity-tech-more-in-new-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=10940","title":{"rendered":"Texthelp Executives Talk #PowerMyPotential Marketing Campaign, Neurodiversity, Tech, More In New Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Longtime readers of the column are undoubtedly familiar with the Ireland-based educational software maker Texthelp. The company last made an appearance in this space last March when I reported on Texthelp releasing findings of a survey that examined corporate support of neurodiverse workers. News of the survey came weeks after Texthelp announced it acquired fellow educational software company Don Johnston Incorporated, also covered by yours truly here.<\/p>\n

Last month, during Disability Pride Month, Texthelp released its new #PowerMyPotential campaign, aimed at amplifying awareness of the neurodiverse community and how neurodivergent people \u201cthink, work and learn in ways that are truly unique\u201d can prove an asset to the workplace if given the opportunity. Of course, Texthelp has leveraged the chance to explain why its products, such as the Read&Write app, can make the workplace more accessible to a neurodivergent person.<\/p>\n

Texthelp has posted a video on the campaign to YouTube.<\/p>\n

In a wide-ranging interview conducted via videoconference earlier this month, both Texthelp CEO Martin McKay and chief people officer Cathy Donnelly spoke glowingly of how, in Donnelly\u2019s words, \u201cwhat we\u2019re doing from a people function perspective is really making sure that we\u2019re practicing what we\u2019re preaching.\u201d Texthelp is eating its own dog food; the #PowerMyPotential campaign goes only so far, but Texthelp has committed itself to normalizing the core tenet of embracing neurodiversity at the company. Texthelp, Donnelly said, wants to be a place where people feel comfortable in disclosing their disability and expressing their needs and tolerances. 76% of disabled people don\u2019t share their disability with their employer, according to Donnelly. It\u2019s Texthelp\u2019s mission to give people the tools they need to succeed, as well as create supportive safe spaces where authenticity is treasured. \u201cWe\u2019re really building that culture of dignity [and] of respect of getting to know people professionally and personally,\u201d she said. \u201cI think with that culture of psychological safety, our people are competent and comfortable in their own skins and are able to be the best version of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Donnelly told me that over the last 12 to 18 months, she feels Texthelp has \u201ccome great ways with our employer brand,\u201d adding the organization was restructured last year and the company\u2019s name is \u201cgetting out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay echoed Donnelly\u2019s sentiments. He added another way Texthelp is trying to practice what they preach is by making its software available not merely to its employees\u2014they want works\u2019 families to have access too. As McKay said, sharing assistive technology in this way is an important gesture because conditions like ADHD and dyslexia are inheritable. Parents with dyslexia are 40% to 60% more likely to bear a dyslexic child. It isn\u2019t only Texthelp staffers who get access; the company turned it into an employee benefit such that other businesses could extend Texthelp\u2019s apps to a worker\u2019s family members. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a really positive response to that,\u201d McKay said. \u201cIt\u2019s trying to reframe how people look at this stuff as a sort of generally useful tool that can unlock a little bit of potential [and] make people feel more supportive work, but then also go beyond that and support them support their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moral here is not all disabilities are visible. They can be invisible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think raising the awareness of unseen disabilities is a really important part of all this,\u201d McKay said.<\/p>\n

McKay said he\u2019s noticed a trend over the last few years where people are becoming increasingly more comfortable in disclosing their invisible disability. He cited Elon Musk and Arnold Schwarzenegger as two high-profile individuals who announced they are autistic and dyslexic, respectively. Moreover, McKay said the broader social push for empathy and inclusiveness has created \u201cpsychological safe spaces\u201d in which people can share these more intimate details about themselves without fear of reprisal. This goes a long way in pushing back against longstanding stigmas surrounding disability. There has been misconceptions about dyslexia being associated with low intelligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany years ago, it was harder to get diagnosed,\u201d Donnelly said. \u201cI think there\u2019s very few of us now that haven\u2019t been touched in some shape or form by a family member who is neurodivergent. I think some of the role models\u2014whether they\u2019re highly successful career people or whether they\u2019re famous people\u2014I\u2019ve been starting to normalize by sharing the fact they\u2019re dyslexic or autistic, or whatever it may be, I think it is becoming much more okay [and] much more comfortable for people to talk about. Long ago, we would have assumed that people who were dyslexic weren\u2019t that intelligent. What we\u2019re noticing is those skills; we really need the creativity, the visualization. Those are skills that people who are dyslexic bring in our workforces that don\u2019t come naturally to people who aren\u2019t dyslexic. I think people are starting to realize the real benefits, skills, and talents that neurodivergent talent bring to their organization. I think we need to tell more of these stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, technology has made an impact in supporting neurodivergent people, but obviously with people coping with all sorts of disabilities. McKay noted, however, technology is a double-edged sword. It\u2019s \u201cmuch easier to support\u201d neurodivergent people with today\u2019s technological sensibilities. On the other hand, however, he noted someone with ADHD may find concentrating incredibly difficult nowadays due to \u201dso many distractions and notifications.\u201d In the aggregate, McKay believes the digital world can be more accommodating to more disabilities than others. Where one person may thrive, another may be challenged.<\/p>\n

Donnelly seconded McKay, saying there\u2019s \u201can overwhelm of information\u201d in these modern times dominated by technology.<\/p>\n

Asked about the future, McKay expressed optimism. He believes the upsurge in interest in neurodiversity is attributable to the technical landscape improving and the societal push to make disability a regular part of DEI conversations. \u201cThere has been a more of an acceptance that there\u2019s a whole bunch of people who are neurodivergent, definitely not stupid people, who can really bring value to work with a little bit of support,\u201d he said. \u201cThe more that that happens [and] the more we see the workforce reflecting society, that\u2019s better for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Donnelly: \u201cMy ultimate vision would be that this [neurodiversity] assistive technology is available in every workplace. We can\u2019t do having access to the technology right through their school years and through their university, then on the day they graduate, it\u2019s like asking someone to hand back their reading glasses and wishing them luck in their career. We need to make sure that we\u2019re really unleashing that potential as employers, and I think assistive technology is critical to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get to a place where people see the utility [of Texthelp\u2019s software] and making these things available for everyone because it helps them understand what\u2019s on the computer screen,\u201d McKay said. \u201c[It] helps them express that knowledge and have a better workday.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Longtime readers of the column are undoubtedly familiar with the Ireland-based educational software maker Texthelp. The company last made an appearance in this space last March when I reported on Texthelp releasing findings of a survey that examined corporate support of neurodiverse workers. 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