3.2 Making reasonable adjustments: making time
A person with learning disabilities who reviewed this session said that in his experience, workplaces aren’t always very supportive if you need to work at a slower pace. In the next activity, you will learn how an organisation changed its ways of working to make the workplace more inclusive.
Activity 3 An inclusive work environment
Ajay Choksi has been employed by the Rix Centre at the University of East London as a technical assistant for a number of years. Watch this video of Ajay and his colleagues talking about his work at the University. The first half of the film is focused on what Ajay does at work. The second half of the film focuses on the role of his employer.
This film and its captions were produced by Ajay Choksi. We would like to thank Ajay and the team for making this film for the course.
After you have watched the film, complete the table below. Try to think of at least three points under each column.

Transcript: Video 4
What is good about Ajay’s work? | How have Ajay’s colleagues at the Rix Centre supported him at work? |
---|---|
Answer
What is good about Ajay’s work? | How have Ajay’s colleagues at the Rix Centre supported him at work? |
---|---|
Ajay’s job gives him opportunities to socialise with his colleagues | Ajay’s colleagues make time to prepare him for certain tasks, like presentations and meetings |
Ajay’s job is varied and interesting | They make time to reflect on what is working well for Ajay, and what can be improved |
Ajay has progressed in the job and is doing new things and taking on more responsibility | They use more visual aids, like diagrams, to enable Ajay to be included |
Ajay has become more independent at work | They use simpler language |
Ajay has good relationships with his colleagues | They encourage and support Ajay to think about his future plans at work |
What may have struck you most about this film is that Ajay appears to be a genuine member of the team. His colleagues adapted their working practices to help achieve this. Taking more time both to prepare and to reflect is not always easy for busy organisations struggling to meet deadlines or with pressures to deliver services or goods. But in this film, Andy Minnion suggests that making the changes needed to create an inclusive workplace can have benefits for everyone.