Ellie Cole's Couch - Els transcript

Els: I think it's a matter of getting to the point where you say to yourself, “yes, I'm different, but I'm able.”

My name is Els Frankenfelt. I'm a business analyst for a team in APM Employment Services. I have a neurological disability that is called phonological dyslexia. I’m a bit nervous! And it's a brain condition that affects my writing, reading, and spelling.

I think for me the most biggest personal struggle is that it's not a visible disability.

Ellie: Regardless of whether you can see a disability or not, people understand and approach a person that they've never met before, understanding that there could be challenges or struggles that they face with on a day-to-day environment and I feel in my opinion, it becoming more accepting, particularly of invisible disabilities. Has that been your experience?

Els: When it's known. So when people meet you, it's not clear, they can't see it. But then when you start showing your disability, it's sometimes a bit confronting.

I think it's a matter of getting to the point where you say to yourself, “yes, I'm different, but I'm able.” And it just gives you that courage to deal with the fact that you come in today and you can't spell exercise. You're just like, “Oh well, it's just another day, thank goodness for spell check.”

Ellie: What was it like coming into the APM team for you for the first time?

Els: It's a sense of fulfilment because knowing that the work I was doing was changing people's lives just provided me with this sense of purpose that it wasn't just work anymore.

I'm absolutely just loving what I'm doing and I'm doing it with a disability, and I don't feel that I need to hide it.

I think APM has been incredible by acknowledging my abilities instead of focusing on my disability.