Dyscalculia in the Workplace: Understanding, Supporting, and Celebrating Neurodiverse Talent

Dyscalculia, often described as "dyslexia with numbers", is a specific learning difficulty that affects a person’s ability to understand and work with numerical concepts. It can impact everything from basic arithmetic to interpreting graphs, managing time, and navigating spatial environments. While less well-known than dyslexia, it is estimated to affect around 6% of the UK population , though the true figure may be higher due to underdiagnosis and limited public awareness.

Despite its prevalence, dyscalculia remains one of the least recognised neurodevelopmental conditions in adult life. Many individuals grow up without a formal diagnosis, often internalising their struggles with numbers as personal failings rather than manifestations of a cognitive difference. This lack of recognition can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and missed opportunities in education and employment.

What Is Dyscalculia?

The British Dyslexia Association defines dyscalculia as a difficulty particularly in understanding and working with numbers. It is not simply a dislike of maths or a lack of effort it is a neurological difference that affects how the brain processes numerical information. This can manifest as persistent problems with:

• Counting backwards

• Estimating quantities

• Understanding place value

• Handling money or interpreting graphs

• Time management and spatial awareness 

These difficulties often persist into adulthood, affecting everyday tasks such as budgeting, scheduling, and even reading timetables or maps. Dyscalculia is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning it is present from birth and typically lifelong. It frequently co-occurs with other conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD, or dyspraxia, which can compound the challenges faced by individuals.

Importantly, dyscalculia is not linked to intelligence. Many individuals with the condition have average or above-average IQs, and their difficulties with numbers do not reflect their overall cognitive abilities . In fact, many people with dyscalculia excel in areas that require creativity, verbal reasoning, and emotional intelligence skills that are highly valuable in the workplace.

Challenges in the Workplace

For adults, dyscalculia can present unique and often invisible challenges in professional settings. These difficulties are not limited to traditional finance or data-heavy roles they can affect a wide range of tasks across departments, from HR and planning to customer services and facilities management. Common workplace challenges include:

• Budgeting and data entry: Struggles with spreadsheets, financial systems, and numerical accuracy can lead to errors or avoidance of tasks.

• Time tracking and scheduling: Difficulty estimating durations or reading timetables can affect punctuality and project planning.

• Numerical recall in meetings: Pressure to remember figures or interpret statistics on the spot can cause stress and disengagement.

• Navigating buildings or remembering codes and dates: Spatial awareness issues may affect orientation in unfamiliar environments or recalling numeric security codes.

These challenges can lead to performance anxiety, reduced confidence, and even avoidance behaviours, where individuals steer clear of roles or tasks perceived as numerically demanding. This can limit career progression and contribute to feelings of inadequacy. As one workplace guide notes:

“Employees with dyscalculia may feel pressure to perform numerical tasks accurately and this can cause significant anxiety.”

In local government, where data-driven decision-making is increasingly central, it's vital to recognise that neurodiverse staff may need alternative ways to engage with information. A lack of awareness or support can result in talented individuals being overlooked or underutilised.

Strengths of People with Dyscalculia

Despite the challenges, individuals with dyscalculia often bring exceptional strengths to the workplace qualities that are increasingly valued in modern, collaborative, and creative environments. Key strengths include:

• Creative thinking and problem-solving: Dyscalculic individuals often approach problems from unconventional angles, offering fresh perspectives.

• Visual-spatial abilities and holistic thinking: Many excel in seeing the "big picture", making connections others might miss.

• Strong verbal communication skills: A reliance on verbal reasoning can lead to articulate, empathetic communicators.

• Empathy and intuition: Emotional intelligence and sensitivity to others’ needs often make them excellent team players and people managers.

These strengths are particularly valuable in roles involving community engagement, policy development, design, communications, and strategic thinking areas where numerical precision is less central than creativity, empathy, and insight.

Neurodiversity advocate Rob Butler writes:

“Imagine possessing a set of skills that allow you to approach problems from unique angles, untouched by conventional mathematical constraints… Dyscalculia can bestow people with unique strengths, or superpowers.”

By shifting the narrative from deficit to difference, local authorities can unlock the potential of dyscalculic staff and foster a more inclusive, innovative workforce.

How Local Authorities Can Support Staff with Dyscalculia

Local government employers have both a legal obligation under the Equality Act 2010 and a moral responsibility to ensure that neurodiverse staff, including those with dyscalculia, are supported to thrive in the workplace. Dyscalculia, a specific learning difference affecting numerical understanding, can present unique challenges in roles that involve budgeting, data analysis, or time management. However, with the right support, individuals with dyscalculia can bring valuable perspectives, creativity, and problem-solving skills to their teams.

Reasonable adjustments are not just about compliance they are about fostering a culture of inclusion, where all employees feel safe, respected, and empowered to contribute meaningfully. Inclusive workplaces are more innovative, resilient, and better equipped to serve diverse communities.

Here are four practical and impactful ways local authorities can support staff with dyscalculia:

1. Workplace Adjustments

Simple, thoughtful adjustments can significantly improve the working experience of someone with dyscalculia. These changes often benefit the wider team by enhancing clarity and accessibility.

Examples include:

• Assistive technology: Provide calculators, talking calculators, or apps that simplify numerical tasks and reduce cognitive load.

• Visual representation of data: Use pie charts, bar graphs, infographics, and colour-coded spreadsheets to make numerical information easier to interpret.

• Flexible communication: Avoid requiring on-the-spot numerical recall in meetings or interviews. Allow staff to follow up in writing or refer to prepared materials.

• Time management support: Offer digital planners, alarms, visual timetables, and reminders to help with scheduling and prioritisation.

• Reference materials: Display conversion tables, formulas, and step-by-step guides relevant to the role especially in finance, procurement, or planning teams.

These adjustments should be co-designed with the employee wherever possible, ensuring they are tailored to individual needs and preferences.

2. Access to Work Programme

The Access to Work scheme, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is a vital resource that can provide financial support for:

• Specialist equipment: Including adapted software, ergonomic tools, or custom interfaces that simplify numerical tasks.

• Support workers: Such as job coaches, note-takers, or mentors who can assist with task planning and execution.

• Travel assistance: For individuals who may struggle with navigation, time estimation, or public transport.

• Training and coaching: Tailored to the individual’s role and learning style, helping them build confidence and competence.

Local authorities should actively promote this scheme to staff and ensure HR teams are trained to support applications. Embedding Access to Work into onboarding and induction processes can help normalise its use and reduce stigma.

3. Inclusive Culture and Leadership

Support for neurodiverse staff must go beyond adjustments it requires a cultural shift. Leaders and managers play a crucial role in modelling inclusive behaviours and fostering psychological safety.

Key actions include:

• Training for managers: Equip leaders with knowledge about dyscalculia and other neurodivergent conditions, including how to spot signs and offer support.

• Open conversations: Encourage staff to share their needs without fear of judgment or disadvantage.

• Celebrating strengths: Recognise and value the unique contributions of neurodiverse staff, such as creative thinking, attention to detail, or empathy.

• Inclusive policies: Ensure recruitment, performance management, and promotion processes are accessible and fair.

4. Peer Support and Networks

Creating opportunities for connection and shared learning can reduce isolation and build confidence among neurodiverse staff.

Suggestions include:

• Employee resource groups: Establish neurodiversity networks where staff can share experiences, advice, and advocacy.

• Mentoring schemes: Pair neurodiverse staff with mentors who understand their challenges and can offer guidance.

• Awareness campaigns: Promote understanding of dyscalculia and other neurodivergent conditions through internal communications, events, and training.

3. Workplace Needs Assessments

A Workplace Needs Assessment is a semi-formal, diagnostic process conducted by a qualified specialist to identify the specific barriers an employee may face due to a neurodivergent condition such as dyscalculia. It goes beyond generic support by offering bespoke recommendations tailored to the individual’s role, working environment, and personal strengths.

These assessments typically cost around £450, and crucially, they can be fully funded through the Access to Work scheme, making them a cost-effective investment for local authorities.

Key benefits include:

• A personalised support plan: The assessor provides a detailed report outlining practical adjustments, tools, and strategies that can be implemented immediately.

• Increased confidence and productivity: Employees feel seen and supported, which often leads to improved morale, engagement, and output.

• Improved manager understanding and team cohesion: Managers gain insight into how best to support their team member, fostering empathy and reducing misunderstandings.

For local authorities, investing in Workplace Needs Assessments can yield long-term organisational benefits:

• Reduced absenteeism and presenteeism: When staff feel supported, they are more likely to remain engaged and less likely to take time off due to stress or burnout.

• Improved retention and talent development: Neurodiverse staff are more likely to stay and grow within an organisation that actively supports their needs.

• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion: Offering assessments signals to current and prospective employees that the authority is serious about equity and diversity not just in policy, but in practice.

Local authorities should consider embedding Workplace Needs Assessments into onboarding processes, return-to-work plans, and performance reviews for neurodiverse staff.

4. Culture and Communication

Creating a neuroinclusive culture is not just about making adjustments it’s about embedding empathy, openness, and respect into the fabric of the organisation. Dyscalculia, like other neurodivergent conditions, is often invisible, which makes awareness and communication especially important.

Key actions for local authorities include:

• Encouraging open conversations: Use staff networks, lunch-and-learn sessions, and internal campaigns to normalise discussions around neurodiversity. When employees feel safe to disclose, they’re more likely to seek support and thrive.

• Training managers and HR teams: Equip leaders with the skills to recognise signs of dyscalculia and respond with understanding. This includes knowing how to initiate supportive conversations and implement reasonable adjustments.

• Celebrating strengths: Move beyond accommodation to appreciation. Highlight the unique contributions of neurodiverse staff such as creative problem-solving, empathy, or systems thinking in newsletters, awards, and case studies.

• Using inclusive language: Avoid deficit-based terminology. Instead of framing dyscalculia as a “disorder,” focus on it as a “difference” in cognitive processing. This shift in language helps reduce stigma and fosters a strengths-based approach.

Embedding neurodiversity into organisational values, leadership behaviours, and strategic priorities can transform local authorities into employers of choice for talented individuals who think differently. It also aligns with broader public sector goals around equality, diversity, and inclusion ensuring that the workforce reflects and understands the communities it serves.

Final Thoughts

Dyscalculia is not a barrier to success it represents a different way of thinking. In the context of local government, where complex challenges require innovative solutions and diverse perspectives, embracing neurodiversity is not just inclusive it’s strategic.

Staff with dyscalculia may approach problems in unconventional ways, offering fresh insights, creative thinking, and alternative approaches to service delivery. When local authorities recognise and support these differences, they unlock the full potential of their workforce.

Supporting dyscalculic staff means going beyond compliance with the Equality Act 2010. It means building cultures of equity, empathy, and empowerment, where every employee feels safe to be themselves and confident in their contribution. This involves:

• Recognising challenges and removing barriers to participation.

• Celebrating strengths and valuing cognitive diversity as an asset.

• Embedding inclusive leadership and accessible systems across the organisation.

As awareness of neurodiversity grows, so too must our commitment to inclusive practices. This includes investing in training, redesigning processes, and fostering open dialogue. Because when we design workplaces for difference, we create environments where innovation, collaboration, and belonging flourish.

Local authorities have a unique opportunity to lead by example showing that public sector organisations can be both compassionate and high-performing. By championing neurodiversity, they not only support their staff they strengthen their ability to serve diverse communities with empathy, creativity, and excellence.