Issue #9 - Celebrating Neurodiversity at Paragon

Hi everyone, and welcome to the latest issue of People, Planet, Partners!?

Last month, I introduced you to Paragon’s new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead, Paulette Bailey . We talked about her new role, and what she’s hoping to achieve here.??

This month, Paulette is back and to mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week (NCW), she has spoken to our CEO, Jeremy Walters , about his journey with dyslexia and the impact it has had on his life so far. Take a look below to see the full interview!?

Paulette?

"Jeremy, thank you so much for speaking to me today for NCW at Paragon. I’d like to ask you a few questions about living with dyslexia and your experiences throughout your life."?

Jeremy?

"I’m always happy to talk about this topic. NCW is a good opportunity for us to shine a spotlight on neurodiversity within our business, so I’m delighted to talk to you today."?

Paulette?

"Thank you! Onto the first question. When did you first realise that you saw the world differently to neurotypical people, and how did that make you feel?"?

Jeremy?

"That goes back a long way, probably 35 years now to when I was 14 or 15 years old. That’s when I first realised that I saw the world differently. For me that manifested itself in a very negative way. It highlighted all the things I couldn’t do compared with neurotypical people.??

Reading in class at school was very difficult for me, I was very self-conscious about struggling with words. I would sometimes think I knew a word, but say the wrong one altogether, and classmates would laugh because they thought I’d done it as a joke.??

That made me really uncomfortable, but it made me quite angry, because I didn’t understand why I couldn’t do it. I was physically the same as other children, but I just couldn’t do it. As I developed, however, I started to overcompensate in other areas and developed other skills, like maths. I started to enjoy maths because there wasn’t any embarrassment from having to read in front of people unlike in English or history classes."?

Paulette?

"So, was it around that age that you were first diagnosed, or did that come later? How did that impact your life?"?

Jeremy?

"Diagnosis is incredibly important. For me, it came about a year or so later. At that age, you start going into your GCSEs and the issues started to come to a head. The availability of diagnosis at that point wasn’t very good, and I have my mum to thank for her insistence that I wasn’t lazy or stupid, I was just struggling.??

She actually took me to the Dyslexia Association in Bath and I was eventually diagnosed. At first, the original diagnosis wasn't a positive thing for me. I had to acknowledge that I had this ‘thing’ for life, and I had to find ways to overcome the challenges it brought.?

At that point, I became aware that I would need more time for certain activities, and I was going to have to ask for help. Dyslexia is hereditary; my daughter has it but my son doesn’t, so it’s something I talk about with her a lot.??

Has it limited my career? No. But I’ve always known I’d have to work harder and find ways to overcome the challenges it brought."?

Paulette?

"Obviously, we’re having this conversation as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, so I wanted to ask, as a neurodivergent person, how has it positively impacted your career? I’d also like to know if you’ve experienced any negatives too?"??

Jeremy?

"To be honest, I’m very fortunate because there’s more positives than negatives. I’ll reverse your question and start with the negatives. There aren’t many, but one thing that springs to mind is around interview or presentation situations.??

Creating a CV without spelling mistakes was challenging, so was writing about myself and the role. I struggled to make this as descriptive or powerful as other people have been able to do. That’s certainly a negative impact. Also, early on in my career when I did things like multiple choice questions, or written assessments during an interview I’ve sometimes struggled.?

But let’s look at the positives. I think one would be the work ethic I’ve developed. Another would be that it’s enabled me to have more empathy with all my colleagues, whether that person is neurotypical or not. It’s helped me become a much more rounded person, and more supportive of difference. That’s important because it helps you bring the best out of people.??

To succeed as a business, we need the best out of everyone. To have a fully inclusive culture, you need to be able to listen to everybody’s voice, but also hear what they’re saying and understand their point of view."?

Paulette?

"You touched there on the positive aspects for your career. How do you think Paragon has embraced neurodiversity, and what plans do we have to further enhance our talent in the future?"?

Jeremy?

"It’s really important to talk about this. As an organisation, we talk about the diversity and inclusion topic a lot in a broader sense.??

First of all, I feel grateful to Paragon. And by Paragon, I mean everyone here who is taking part, at all levels, in the initiatives that we have underway. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to progress up the business, and thankful for the understanding of my colleagues who I’ve worked with over the years. I feel that as a business we’ve been able to embrace neurodiversity really well, and we’re on a strong path.?

Does that mean we’re doing everything we can? No, I don’t think we are, and I think we can still widen our embrace. It’s not all about how we look at ourselves, it’s also about understanding how people on the outside look at Paragon. I’d like to see the perception of people looking into our organisation from the outside improving, so they say “actually, this is a truly neurodiverse business that I want to come and work at.”?"

Paulette?

"Thank you so much for answering these questions, Jeremy. Speaking to someone in your role about dyslexia for Neurodiversity Celebration Week is so valuable. This conversation is a great step forward, especially because representation is so important and by speaking so openly it shows that neurodivergent people have a voice within Paragon."?

Thank you for reading this issue of People, Planet, Partners! As always, if you have any comments or questions, please add them below.?

Lucy?