Supporting DLD at Work & Interviews
Designed for employers, these leaflets include information about DLD and the challenges people with DLD may face in the workplace or during interviews, along with supportive strategies.
If you have DLD, you may wish to send these to your employer or share the link to this page with them.
For further information about DLD, see here.
Key strategies to support people with DLD in interviews
Consider offering candidates a list of questions to prepare for in advance. This will help to reduce anxiety on the day and enable them to give their best responses.
A short, general conversation at the start can help to settle nerves. Making it clear that it’s fine for the candidate to say they don’t understand and/or ask for repetition during the interview will be beneficial.
The adult with DLD may bring a prompt sheet to help them in the interview. Encouraging and reassuring them to use this will help reduce anxiety and support them to get their message across.
Speaking more slowly, and pausing briefly at the end of each sentence, can help people with DLD to process what you say. It will also help if you avoid giving too much information at once.
The person with DLD may pause for longer than expected before responding (up to 15 seconds). Silence can feel awkward, but they may be using this time to think about what you’ve said and plan their response.
Only ask one question at a time. Try to avoid ambiguous or wordy questions. Short, simple questions will make it easier to understand. Consider providing the questions in writing for the candidate to see as well as hear.
The interviewee may appear confused, give an off-target response or may not answer a question. They may not have understood. Repeating or rewording the question might help.
If the person with DLD wanders off topic, it may help to remind them of the question.
The person with DLD may give a response lacking in detail. Prompt with a general question, such as: ‘Can you tell me more about…?’ and then specific questions to extract more information or personal examples.
Some adults with DLD may avoid eye contact as they find this difficult. They may also look away whilst thinking of what they want to say.
