2. What are the barriers?

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Introduction to Easy Read What are the barriers?

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It is important to understand the difficulties people may have reading and understanding information.

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We can then write in a way that accommodates different people’s needs.

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The people who read your information are all different.

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Everyone has their own skills and things they find more difficult.

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You need to write in a way that is accessible as possible for as many people as possible.

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The things people may find difficult include finding and accessing information, Reading, concentrating, remembering, understanding, cross referencing and seeing what is on the page or screen.

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Finding and accessing.

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Think about how and where people can find your information.

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Plan how people can find their way through your information with content pages and hyperlinks.

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If you’re sharing electronic versions, check you’re using commonly used formats.

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Reading.

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The average reading age of adults in the UK is about 10 years old.

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Lots of people with a learning disability cannot read at all.

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Many others find reading difficult, and some people with a learning disability read very easily.

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Concentrating.

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Some people find it hard to concentrate on long documents.

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For some, long lists of instructions or directions can be difficult to follow.

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Too much information can overload some people.

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Remembering.

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Everybody’s ability to recall information and remember new information is different.

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If someone has memory problems, they may find it hard to follow multi step instructions, process new information, or concentrate understanding.

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Understanding is more than just being able to read.

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Some people may also struggle with too much information, new information, abstract ideas and conditional thinking as well as interconnected ideas.

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Cross referencing is where you have to check information in one place with information elsewhere.

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This can make your information harder for people who have difficulties with concentration, memory or understanding seeing.

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Sight problems are more common in people with learning disabilities.

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This means you have to think carefully about things like font choice, size of text, colour and contrast, as well as digital accessibility.

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Remember support people by reducing barriers to finding and accessing information, reading, concentrating, remembering, understanding, cross referencing and seeing.

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Visit www.easyread.wales for more help with easy Read including clear and easy handbook, Check IT Toolkit, definitions, dictionary and examples of our easy read work.

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You can also get more help from us with translation and design, quality, checking your Easy Read work, as well as developing your skills through training and consultancy.

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Contact us on 02920681160, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.easyread.wales.