Easy to read language
Why to spread an easy to read and to understand language? We are living in the society of information: an enormous flow of information is surrounding all of us, this information circulates easily though the web and they are of fundamental importance in our life. Anyway this information is not accessible for all: long texts, small fonts, difficult language, poor contrast between the background and the text, chaotic images, are just some of the aspects that reduce adult people with intellectual disability’s ability to understand and to have access to information; nevertheless for them as for anybody else, to have access to information allow to learn, to have an active role in the society, to be aware of their own rights and to fight for them, to take their own decision and to choose, it allow to develop the so called self-advocacy.
The reduction of information in easy to read and to understand language is not very common in Italy, but it is more and more emerging in countries as Belgium, Austria, Germany, England. Especially, the Belgian organization Inclusion Europe made of easy to read language one of its issues, creating some guide lines that were translated in several languages, in order to spread this method as much as possible: an immediate, clear, synthetic but exhaustive communication. There are European companies and political parties who asked for the translation of texts and electoral programmes in easy to read language.
The rules to be followed are not a lot and apparently simple: Arial 14 font, wide line spacing, one sentence per line, easy language and if possible a pictogram or an image to explain each phrase. The creation of this texts is not so immediate, instead: it is necessary to semplify an article in a few sentences ( each sentence should contain just one action), to avoid difficult words, and if not possible to explain their meaning at the end of the text, to choose appropriate images ... Once ready, the text has to be subjected to the review by a person with intellectual disability to verify if it is actually simple and understandable. There are different levels of intellectual disability , so the results won’t be universally accessible, but certainly in this way they will be able to reach a wider number of beneficiaries then just using the standard texts.
There are different fields in which the easy to read language can find application: from the media (as blog, sites, magazines, leaflets, radio etc.), to the direct and written communication with people with intellectual disability, to the management of educational and social activities with people with intellectual disabilities, to the creation of learning/teaching materials or for the spare time.
Associazione Uniamoci Onlus, after the participation to a training course held by Inclusion Europe, within the project Keep It Short and Simple cofunded by the European programme Erasmus+, started an experimental process of application of easy to read language to its communication channels and started to offer a service of providing information in easy to read language broadcasting weekly we radio programmes in easy to read language (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiT7YLjyD2U ) and the updating of a blog of news, curiosities and events using the easy to read language (https://lenotiziefacili.blogspot.com/): they are information channels that can be used independently by people with intellectual disability or freely used by educators and social workers for the organization of reading or cultural activities in their centers.
To adopt the use the easy to read language means to be promoters of a social change aimed at the recognition of people with intellectual disability’s right to information and to know using tools for adults so that they can improve their lifestyle towards a wider independence laying down the barriers to communication.
Dott.ssa Eleonora Di Liberto
Tecnico della Riabilitazione Psichiatrica
Vicepresidente e redattore in Linguaggio facile presso l’Associazione Uniamoci Onlus
