Disclosure is a tool, not a confession. You use it when it gets you something you need. This guide covers the three routes and when each makes sense.
The three routes
1. Informal, to one person
Telling a trusted manager or colleague, conversationally, with no HR involvement.
Gets you: day-to-day flexibility, someone who understands, a low-stakes test of the culture.
Doesn't get you: legal protection tied to a documented request, or anything that survives that person leaving.
2. Formal, to HR / occupational health
A documented disclosure, usually with a diagnosis letter, triggering a formal accommodations process.
Gets you: legal protection (in the UK, the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments; similar frameworks elsewhere), documented adjustments that survive manager changes, and a paper trail if things go wrong.
Costs you: the process can be slow, and you lose control of exactly who knows what.
3. No disclosure, self-built accommodations
Text-to-speech, dictation, your own templates and workflows - nobody needs to approve the font size on your own screen.
Gets you: full privacy and immediate results.
Limits: anything needing budget, software approval or schedule changes eventually needs a conversation.
A short script that works
"I have dyslexia. It doesn't affect my technical work - it affects how fast I read dense documents. Two things that help a lot: getting meeting papers a day ahead, and using text-to-speech, which I already do. That's it."
Notice the shape: name it, bound it, make two specific asks, reassure. Specific asks get actioned; general awareness doesn't.
Red flags to weigh first
- Jokes about spelling in code review or tickets that leadership laughs along with
- Accommodation requests from others that went nowhere
- A culture where every process exception needs a VP signature
None of these mean never - they mean start with route 1 or 3, not route 2.
If you're asked in an interview
You are under no obligation to disclose in interviews. If you need exam or interview accommodations, most companies route that through recruiting without telling the hiring panel. Ask the recruiter: "What's your process for interview adjustments?" - their answer also tells you a lot about the company.
Tried it? Improved it?
Tell the forum what worked and what didn’t: real experience beats recommendations, and the best answers get folded back into this guide with credit.