Equality before the law. Comment from the UN

A recent comment and interpretation of Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability, 2006 helps dispel some myths for individuals in their own countries and how the law is applied, is now available.

Article 12 is Equal Recognition before the Law.

In this recent interpretation, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities highlights the importance of supported decision making.

In fact it goes further and states that supported decision making, and access to information to assist the person make a decision is paramount to the interpretation of Article 12.

It states:-

"Supported decision-making must be available to all. A person’s level of support needs (especially where these are high) should not be a barrier to obtaining support in decision-making;

(b)          All forms of support in the exercise of legal capacity (including more intensive forms of support) must be based on the will and preference of the person, not on what is perceived as being in his or her objective best interests;

(c)          A person’s mode of communication must not be a barrier to obtaining support in decision-making, even where this communication is non-conventional, or understood by very few people;

(d)        Legal recognition of the support person(s) formally chosen by a person must be available and accessible, and the State has an obligation to facilitate the creation of support, particularly for people who are isolated and may not have access to naturally occurring supports in the community."   Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Eleventh session, 31 March –11 April 2014, General comment No 1 (2014)

                       

The document from the committee also goes through many of the other articles of the convention and how these relate to the interpretation of Article 12.

Read the article from Disability Scoop and the embedded link for further details.

 To assist supported decision making for people with low literacy, access to written information the person can understand is paramount. 

Talk to Cathy about how to meet your obligations for access to written information.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield.

0466 579 855.

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

Senate enquiry into prevalence of different types of speech, language and communication disorders

Did you know....

the Australian Federal Government is currently running a Senate enquiry into the prevalence of different types of speech, language and communication disorders and speech pathology services in Australia . You can go to this link to read any of 145 public submissions made to the enquiry.  The submission date has closed.

Many are personal stories, others are from advocacy groups, and others from Speech Pathologists and organisations or departments who employ Speech Pathologists.  Speech Pathology Australia has submitted a significant paper. It does comment upon the need for Easy English and includes recommendations for the development of Easy English by government, community and private sectors.

Significantly, many submissions talk about Communication being a Human Right. With this as a basis, access to services appropriate to needs should also be there.  Read more at the UN Convention on the Rights of Person with a Disability, 2006 the Victorian Government Communication Access Policy, 2006 and the article Applying the World Report on Disability to children’s communication, 2013 .

What and who are Speech Pathologists?

Speech pathologists are university educated professionals with specific knowledge and expertise in all areas of speech, language, communication and swallowing. Speech pathologists work with
infants, children, adolescents and adults with communication and/or swallowing disabilities in the
public and private sectors, across health, education, disability, community, mental health, youth
justice and aged care systems. Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) is the national peak body for speech pathologists in Australia,representing over 6,000 members. 

(Submission to the Senate enquiry into the prevalence of different types of speech, language and communication disorders and speech pathology services in Australia, Speech Pathology Australia, 2014)

 

As the call for submissions has been done via information on the internet, and in complex form, there has been no capacity for people with non-functional literacy to also include their stories or recommendations.

Without Easy English significant percentages of the Australian population are unable to contribute to information flow to and from the government. How do we get this critical information in a form that more people can see, read and consider either submitting briefs or reading about the recommendations.

All projects need to plan for Easy English in their initial phase.  Time needs to be allocated to allow this to be developed appropriately.  People with low literacy also need more time to develop their responses.  Some maybe in written form. but others may use a YouTube or video clip.

Talk to Cathy about how to plan for your critical information and projects to be developed into Easy English.

Cathy 

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au
0466 579 855

Health messages on the web

Check out this resource developed by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance (NSW) www.cerebralpalsy.org.au

They have developed some resources to help people understand about managing their own health. 

Could you use these resources?
Do you need your fact sheets and information written in Easy English.

Talk to Cathy about how Access Easy English can help you write your resource information in Easy English

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

0466 579855
cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

Money, Money, Money, and Literacy

How many people understand their superannuation details or insurance options (life, car, house, boat, or any other insurance)? What about the complexities of your medicine dosages and when you need to take them, particularly when you are unwell. 

Last night, the ABC Melbourne, Lateline program interviewed David Whitely, the chief executive of Industry Super Australia, http://www.industrysuper.com which represents the country's largest superannuation funds, including HESTA, HOSTPLUS, Cbus and Australian Super. The discussion was about the proposed changes the Federal government are considering to the Future of Financial Advice laws. www.abc.net.au

 Excerpt from the Lateline Program:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-24/fofa-on-hold/5342552

 "EMMA ALBERICI (Journalist): Well in fact, Senator Arthur Sinodinos on this very program just a few weeks ago said that his advice to consumers was that they needed to get more informed because, "... at the end of the day, that's the best sanction on financial advisors". What do you think of that tip from Senator Sinodinos?

DAVID WHITELEY: Well I think the thinking about superannuation and how people invest and save for their retirement has moved considerably in the last decade. It's now recognised that people tend to discount the future. That is, that they pay much more attention to what's occurring today than they might do 40 years down the track. It's quite clear that there's relatively low levels of financial literacy across the Australian community. And when we have a compulsory super system or pension system, we need to make sure that the regulatory framework is designed to take into account how we know people behave; that is, the system is designed to act in people's best interests. "

So where does the data come from to confirm this statement from David Whitely?

Data released by the ABS in 2013, as part of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Literacy Competencies (PIAAC) has some significant data on prose literacy, numerical literacy and problem solving in technology-rich environments literacy. www.abs.gov.au  #4228

Often we cite the Prose literacy. Non-functional literacy (Prose) in Australia is 44% or 7.3 million Australian adults.

 In fact numerical literacy, which involves reading, understanding and interpreting numbers and mathematical concepts and information is even more significant. Current data from 2013 has identified “53.5% or 11.7 million adult Australians do not have the skills in numeracy to be able to complete Level 2 tasks, or below, rating them as being non-functional in numeracy.”

“Tasks from level 2 include a range of common contexts where maths content is fairly explicit or visual...... Involves calculating with whole numbers and common decimals, per cents and fractions; simple measurement and spatial representation; estimation; and interpretation of relatively simple data and statistics in texts, tables and graphs.”  www.abs.gov.au  #4228

Read more detail on PIAAC in my November 2013 blog. http://accesseasyenglish.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/notes-on-current-adult-literacy-skills.html

If it is recognised by the financial industry there are "relatively low levels of financial literacy”, maybe there are other strategies that need to be considered.

Can information be written in everyday words and language and style, so that we do understand and can be better informed about our superannuation and other financial needs?  Yes. It is possible to write information using everyday words, terms and styles of writing. 

Think about other times numeracy is part of the reading you do? I will start a list for you. See how many other things you can add to this list.

·         Work entitlements

·         Pay and Super Payments

·         Salary packaging or Salary sacrifice

·         Bills

·         Mobile Phone contracts

·         Insurance

·         Timetables

Let's talk about how your organisation can improve how information is presented so more Australians have an opportunity to be informed about their choices in their financial literacy and other areas of their life.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Access Easy English

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

0466 579 855

www.acceseasyenglish.com.au