Monday 21 February 2022

Accessibility not. A personal experience at COVID19 testing 2022

Black & white photo Lady smiling at the camera. of head shot.
Cassandra Wright-Dole

Since the early 1980s, I have watched people’s faces as a matter of necessity. My slow but progressive hearing loss meant I acquired considerable lipreading skills from a young age before my profound sensorineural deafness was diagnosed at six years old. 

When COVID-19 began gaining momentum in Australia in 2020 and the mask mandates were first announced, I sat in my car outside the chemist sobbing uncontrollably to my parents on Facetime. After 35 years of successfully reading lips to communicate with hearing people, I was once again a bewildered three-year-old child, surrounded by meaningless noises laden with social expectations. 

In many ways, the lockdown was my saviour, protecting me from the uncomfortable task of dealing with people who thought that simply turning up the volume of their voice behind three layers of fabric would cure me of my disability.

 While lockdown gave me a layer of protection from dealing with the masked world in a general sense, an unavoidable aspect of the COVID-19 world is the need to be tested. The recent high case numbers of Omicron infections, extended family members testing positive following the new year celebrations, and the lack of available Rapid Antigen Tests saw my husband, our son and I in line for a standard PCR test. We had been fortunate enough until then, and it was only my second test and their first.

 When I reached the end of the line at my first testing experience, six and a half hours later, my human rights weren’t the foremost thing on my mind. I was too drained and exhausted to process the extent to which I was dependent on the kindness of strangers to understand what the nurses required of me or to inform the nurses that I was deaf and lipread. I was just relieved that I was inching closer to the finishing line. However, as someone employed in the accessibility field, I was conscious that my literacy ensured a smoother transition from the hot sun into the sterile testing hub. There was nothing to support independent access to information for someone with low literacy, English as a second language, or an intellectual disability. To the best of my knowledge, no one was employed to provide communication support where required.

 If my first test was infamous for the six and half hours spent in line, the second test was notable for the epiphany it brought. Being triple-vaxxed at the time of my second testing experience, I was happy with my experiences at the vaccination hub. Masks were removed to speak to me upon request, I was positioned where I was visible, and staff were informed of who I was, where I was, and (perhaps best of all) that they needed to remove their face mask to communicate with me. I understand the stakes are much higher at the testing sites, and testing staff will not remove their PPE to speak with a D/deaf person. While entirely understandable from an OH&S perspective, there must be alternatives that will facilitate informed and independent communication competently.

 While I had been unenamoured by the forced dependency on the kindness of strangers when being tested alone the first time, the presumption that my husband had a carer role and would speak for me was tacky at best. For context, my husband is a disabled veteran. His disability does not stand out the way mine does, and according to the Australian Government - I am the carer for both my husband and autistic son. When it comes down to who is best able to answer the relevant questions in these situations – for us – it is me. Having been through testing before, I was aware of the administrative process and prepared to advocate for myself – no kindness of strangers required. Despite my preparedness, the nurse assigned to me continued to engage my husband rather than communicate with me directly. For the sake of retaining my mental health, I have learned to breathe through the experiences that deny me the opportunity to have access to information or to speak for myself.

 If we ask ourselves, ‘are frontline COVID-19 staff being supported at a policy level to engage with people who are d/Deaf, have low literacy or have complex communication needs,’ the answer is still a resounding no. Two years into this pandemic, it’s simply not good enough.

 Cassandra Wright Dole


Specialist Content Writer

Access Easy English

Email: cass@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish
Twitter: @accessEEwriter 

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/casswright


Monday 14 February 2022

NSW CID present Plenary at ASID 2021

 

It was great to hear Jemima McDonald and Pamela Darling from the NSW Council for Intellectual Disability (NSWCID) presenting their plenary at ASID2021.

They made some important points about Easy Read documents. They said that

·      It must be easy to read and understand, 

     but 

     understanding is the key

·      There are no Australian standards. They noted that there is a variety of styles used in Easy Read in Australia

·      NSWCID includes people with an intellectual disability both in co-design and peer review of documents

·      Users of Easy Read may be people with low literacy or those for whom English is not their first language

    Easy Read can be read independently or with support as an interactive tool by workers or family and friends

·      Easy Read is not for everyone.  

Their key working principles are similar to the European Easy Read. Some important elements are

·      the use of white space

·      clear easy words

·      images

·      reduced number of key messages. No more than 10 in a document

·      limit pages to 10 (or up to 20). Break information into separate documents rather than make too long.


Images

Comments made during presentation were

·      engagement of readers can be enhanced by the use of seeing people you recognise in the images. This may help people be connected to the content and feel represented. This is relevant for cultural representations

·      carefully selected images allow you to use less words and sentences

·      do not make the images condescending to an adult audience. Images should be age appropriate and look good.

How does this differ from Easy English principles for the use of images?

Easy English also aims to use images that are relevant to the audience.

Images are chosen to provide the clearest representation of the text. As with the use of commonly used and recognised words, Easy English will use a picture that is most likely to make sense to the reader.

Easy English does not use photo images primarily but sometimes a photo is the best way to represent a familiar item to the audience. For example a photo of a diabetes test kit or a particular building, rather than a drawing type image.

We have regularly found the use of photos of people and 'representative places' appears to be less valuable. Some consumer groups say they prefer photos of people and others do not like photos of people as they seem to represent only the person in the picture rather than ‘anybody’. The exception is of course if the content is about a particular person or place. Then a photo is valuable. This would be the case for

·      the person to contact,

·      the mayor of your council

·      the place to meet for your meeting.

The concept of age appropriate images is complex. It is not simply the case that coloured pictures are childlike. Consumer feedback has told us that clear simple images using colour make the image easier to understand. However images for an adult audience should reflect real life experience. For example an image of real money, a wallet or keycard are preferable to a piggy bank image.

At Access Easy English our consumer reviews provide feedback about the images chosen. We ask people who are likely to be the intended audience to review the work with us. This helps us to match the images as closely as possible to the content.

You can read here and here for a discussion on the comparison of Easy Read and Easy English.

Talk to us about what this could look like for your organisation.

Rachel and Cathy

Cathy Basterfield
Owner Access Easy English
Consultant – Speech Pathologist
Telephone: 0466 579 855
Email: cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au



Friday 14 January 2022

Audit your Easy English document

There are more documents being developed and labelled Easy English. You may think this is a great step forward. However, many of these documents do not reflect the Australian Easy English Guidelines nor the intent of the guidelines. Nor are they useful for the intended audience of Easy English.

Writing in Easy English takes a lot of practice. It is easy to forget some of the elements.  Before you start, you need to be clear about who is your audience. 

Easy English is primarily developed for people with very limited reading skills. These people do not see themselves as readers. Nor would they consider reading as a relaxing leisure activity.

 We have developed a short 5 point audit to assist you determine whether your work, or the information you are sending to consumers is fit for purpose.

1.  Space

Have you used white space? You will have 

·      double line spacing for all lines of text

·     double line spacing for all space between each paragraph of content.



2. Images

Do you have images for

·      the title?

·      all headings?

·     each key point?

There are no words in images.



3.
 Words

Have you 

·      used the every day words of your audience?

·      used short words only?


4. Length

Do you have

·      short sentences? Aim for 5-8 words.

·      1 idea for each sentence?



  

5. Reviewed by target audience

      Have you

    ·      checked your work with intended consumers? 

    ·      made changes after your consumer reviews?


Our team at Access Easy English can help you to improve your Easy English drafts by

·      providing editorial review with comments 

·      developing some different types of documents with you as best practice examples for your team to reference.


You can view some recent examples of best practice Easy English on our website 

Or email us for a recent handout of examples. 


We can also create your Easy English content for you. You can use these 5 audit points to check we have covered these points.

 We offer 2 day training and short seminars. These are advertised on our website and social media communications.

 Look out for our updated ‘The Australian Writing Style Guide For Easy English’ available soon. It will have lots of other points to help you develop quality Easy English for your audience. It will complement the training we offer.

Cathy and Rachel 

Cathy Basterfield

Access Easy English
Speech Pathologist
Telephone: 0466 579 855
Email: cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish
Twitter: @accesseasyengli
LinkedIn Cathy Basterfield


Monday 20 December 2021

What do you want to read about?

Thinks about all the different things you read.

Think about content for work, family responsibilities, learning about your health, a legal problem, what you will do this weekend.

Now think about how many you would choose to read on your upcoming summer holidays.

When I run a workshop or seminar, and ask this question, work is not top of this list.

We all prefer to read things for our leisure. And yes this may be a digital copy.
So let's look at what this could be?

Is it a magazine on your hobby?
or  
Is it a book. Is that fiction or a biography, or maybe poems? 
or
Do you want to catch up on the news from around the world?

Do you read about possible upcoming holiday activities? 

Do you want some ideas for when you stay at home on hot day for things to do?
Are you planning on going to the movies or a farmers or craft market?

Do you want to know more about the star of a show or the latest about your favorite music star.

There is so much that is possible.

Imagine a world where you couldn't read about these things. The 44% of the adult Australian population who do not see themselves as readers would not think about reading as being a leisure activity. 

Yet there is so much to know about. Even if you consider at a local community level all the different event, activities, music, fairs and attractions.

Afterwards, wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to read about what happened, and hear what different people did there or thought about it. 

Start local, or start with the big regional or state run events. Let's make them accessible by planning and having them in Easy English.

Below are some of our recent and older examples. 

Front cover. Photo of new local community centre.  Below is an image of person reading with Parramatta City Council logo on book . The words say. Our news. Spring 2021. We call it Parramatta Pulse


Parramatta Council

Spring 2021 Quarterly Newsletter https://bit.ly/3m8poF0

Look out for them for the next 12 months.



City of Perth
https://www.visitperth.com.au/events/winter-fest-theatre
Winter Fest Theatre – School Holiday program 2019.
Scroll to the bottom 1/3 of webpage.
- Whats on?
- What time are the shows? Week 1 and week 2


Let's not just imagine, but create a world where there is information in Easy English about what things we want to read as we enjoy life.

Talk to us about what this could look like for your organisation at a local community or wider  level, topic specific or broader. 

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield
Owner Access Easy English
Consultant – Speech Pathologist
Telephone: 0466 579 855
Email: cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish
Blog: http://accesseasyenglish.blogspot.com.au
Twitter: @accesseasyengli
LinkedIn Cathy Basterfield





Friday 17 December 2021

Achieving dreams through accessibility.

Meet Jess 

 

Jess with her favourite dog, Mozzie.
Photo supplied by  Jess
In December, Jess Stone featured in an ABC Central Victoria article as a part of their awareness for International Day of People with Disability

As one of our consumer reviewers, Jess has played a formidable role in providing us with feedback on our content, ensuring we do not lose sight of what Easy English needs to have for readers.  


 An animal enthusiast from a young age, Jess has always dreamed of working with animals. The ABC article focused on Jess’s achievements in gaining her Certificate III in Animal Studies.  

Autistic with a learning disability and difficulties with her speech, Jess held strong when people told her she would not succeed in gaining her certificate.  Jess’s special affinity with animals meant the practical aspect of her studies were a breeze; however, her disability made the written component of the course more challenging. Doing her course over three years instead of one, Jess proved her doubters wrong and is now set to be nominated for as a young achiever for the Inspirational TAFE Student Award.

 Jess’s experience demonstrates that with proper adjustments and access, people with disability can achieve their goals.

Jess commented after first doing a consumer review that she wished more things were in Easy English. 

 The Access Easy English team would like to offer a huge congratulations to Jess on all her achievements, both in her studies and in her stand for equal access to educational opportunity. Well done, Jess!

We look forward to hearing about the awards ceremony.

Original article

Cass

Cassandra Wright-Dole

Specialist Content Writer

Access Easy EnglishTelephone: 0466 579 855

Email: cass@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: 
https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish

Blog: http://accesseasyenglish.blogspot.com.au
Twitter: @AccessEEwriter

LinkedIn Cathy Basterfield

 

Thursday 16 December 2021

Burning the midnight oil with Access Easy English: Our experience at the Switzerland virtual Easy-to-Read Conference. Part 2.

 

Our team headed into Day 2 of the 2021 virtual KLAARA (Easy-to-Read) Conference feeling somewhat jet lagged by the time difference despite our feet staying firmly on Australian soil. The “jet-lag” was well worth it as we came away from the conference with fresh perspectives.

 

Day 2 talks explored:

 

·      The increased understanding of adults with ID when presented with concrete information rather than abstract.

·      The receptive language abilities of a group of primary school students with ID using the TROG-H test.

·      The problem of using negative sentences in Easy-to-Read.

·      Whether simplifying German text can inadvertently increase the complexity of the text.

·      Syntax of Easy-to-Read Polish using one idea per sentence and adjusting length of sentence to reduce complexity. What extent does this approach impact the understanding between simple and complex sentences?

·      The disconnect between experience of those who require Easy-to-Read content and those who don’t. How Easy-to-Read can lack the anticipated tact dealing with sensitive issues such as suicide.

·      The lack of Easy-to-Read sources on mental health in Australia for people with ID. Use of plain language can tick an accessibility box for organisation but not increase participation of those who have limited literacy.

·      The role of interlingual translation in providing Easy-to-Read resources for other languages where Easy-to-Read is not widely incorporated.

·      The issue of accessible websites assuming digital literacy.

·      Case studies on consumer testing and degree of supported mediation of the information.

·      Important components of Easy-to-Read and the role of knowing your reader.

  

Overall, the talks brought home the need to develop a more consistent and cohesive approach to accessible information. There is a need for society to begin to understand accessible text as a right, not a favour, and for accessible text to be backed with higher government and community expectations and standards. Not only for those with higher literacy at Plain Language level, the preferred accessible text approach by the Australian Government, but also those who require Easy English. 

 Look out for notices about the next conference in 2 years. Hopefully it will be face to face.

 Cass, Cathy and Rachel

Cathy Basterfield

Owner Access Easy English
Consultant – Speech Pathologist

Telephone: 0466 579 855

Email: cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: 
https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish

Blog: http://accesseasyenglish.blogspot.com.au
Twitter: @accesseasyengli

LinkedIn Cathy Basterfield

Friday 10 December 2021

Content on the Disability Royal Commission in Easy English.

Where is it?

There is so much written content being created for the Disability Royal Commission

When we are doing many of our consumer reviews of Easy English on other topics, the many people we engage with with low literacy do not know about the Royal Commission. 

How is this possible? 

Look around you. Look at where content is published? Look at how it is being conveyed to the wide number of people with disabilities. People with disabilities have a wide range of different abilities.

Content is on their website and social media (I see some of their  posts on Twitter) . What other social media do you see the Royal Commission on? There is nothing on their website about their social media presence.  Very occasionally we hear about the Disability Royal Commission on some news services. Very very occasionally there are guests on interactive news and current affairs shows, like The Drum where it is discussed.

Where is the written content and information for people who prefer simple and clear written information?

How do you find it?

Is it fit for purpose?


Does it cover everything you need to know, that people with highly skilled literacy can read about?

I wrote a submission on their Draft Accessibility Strategy in August 2019. I did get a response, but nothing was changed because of the issues I raised. It is also not listed on the public list of documents. I can send you a copy, if you email me.

Last year, I wrote a second submission, this time on Emergency responses (Bush-fires) and COVID19 responses. In it I highlighted the huge issues for people with low literacy, and what our service provided pro-bono as no government service was doing this work. In late August 2020, we had over 120 separate pieces of information in fact sheets and posters on our website about COVID19 in Easy English. About 20 fact sheets and posters are still available here.  

Once again this submission has not been put on the public list of submissions. It has been handed to another department of the Royal Commission as a general submission. I can email you a copy of this also.

The Royal Commission are developing Easy Read. As with much of my investigations on the differences between Easy English and Easy Read, the Disability Royal Commission Easy Read is very complex and difficult to understand, even for people with good literacy. Read these 2 blogs from 2020 about the differences

Firstly can you find the Easy Read on the website? They are never printed and distributed. This assumes high levels of digital inclusion and digital literacy to be able to access and locate them. Even if you go to the document library, you can not tick a box for Easy Read.

Print screen of your choice of document type.













Here is the Issues paper in Easy Read on Violence and abuse at home.

Firstly, imagine you are a non reader. Do you have any idea what this book/paper/report is about? First impression are important. 

Will you bother picking it up? 




In comparison, here is the Easy English version on the 

As a non reader, do you have any idea what this book/paper/report may be about from the front cover? Will you consider opening it?

This has been developed in Easy English, which includes every day words of the intended reader, images that connect for that audience, clear and logical layout. It has also been consumer reviewed by a female identifying person with low literacy who has experience of group homes.

It would be great if the Disability Royal Commission actually commissioned the simplest type of written content for people to read. 

We welcome conversation about how to make this possible. 

Then more people with low literacy may be able to participate. the Disability Royal Commission will hear about more and different types of abuse, such as many people still do not know the Royal commission is currently running.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Access Easy English

Telephone: 0466 579 855

Email: cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish

Blog: http://accesseasyenglish.blogspot.com.au
Twitter: @accesseasyengli

LinkedIn Cathy Basterfield