How We Use ‘Easy Read’…

“Everyone should be able to access and understand information that affects their everyday lives, including the 10 million disabled people.  Information that is easier to understand helps people to make better choices on issues such as education, employment and healthcare.  It also helps people with learning disabilities to achieve a more equal role in society.”  –– Depart. of Health, ‘Making written information easier to understand for people with learning disabilities, 2010.

How are Apple House care homes helping those we support to understand the written information that pertains to them in order to help in their decision making and choices?

A picture paints a thousand words.  This is so true, don’t you think?  At Apple House care homes, we utilise a variety of communication methods alongside the written word or, sometimes, instead of.

‘Easy read’ means that we make our fonts clearer, larger, and we add symbols or pictures alongside the words.  What we say is said simply, it makes the points without the fuss.  We use ‘easy read’ to help people understand their medication, to prepare for appointments such as the dentist, health check ups and residents’ meetings.

Our primary goal is to make all of the information that forms a part of all our lives, into a format that is useful and relevant on an individual basis.  That said, ‘easy read’ is not a tool that we develop by ourselves as care providers.  As with all communication, it has to be a two-way street.

This means that we work in partnership with the person with learning disabilities to ensure that they are involved in creating a working tool that they understand, that it is meaningful to them.

— Jane Montrose, Managing Director, Apple House Care Homes.

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