Buyer beware
You’ve been told you need to communicate with people with different literacy skills.
Reading public information, or information to access government services, health information, legal information, how to make a complaint, etc should never be a test of one’s reading skills.
You’ve been told the data. Yes, 44% of the adult Australian population do not have the literacy to manage a range of day-to-day reading tasks. And this does not include rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, nor people who live in institutions, such as prisons, or group homes, young people in nursing homes, or people in forensic care facilities.
You look around — there seems to be lots out there called Easy Read — so it must be the way to go. It’s even made it to Wikipedia, so it must be right.
But…. wait…..
Have you read that post? Have you read any of the research? Have you tried to read anything in Easy Read yourself?
So, Wikipedia tells us no more than 10 to 15 words per sentence.
Gee — that reflects our research from Australian and UK development. We have consistently found Easy Read has an average of 14 words per sentence. That’s the average though, so many sentences are much longer than that. Longer sentences have complex phrases and punctuation and many ideas in a sentence.
An average of 14 words in a sentence. That is a long sentence. None of these sentences are even that long. Ask yourself, is that fit for purpose for a person with low literacy?
A person with low literacy, I hear you ask? Who is that? It is a person who rarely reads anything, or not at all. They may hide their difficulty reading from other people. It is a person who may be able to read a simple short sentence (5 words) on a topic they know, and one that they are interested in reading about.
Easy Read developers always tell you it is for people with intellectual disability (ID). And by-the-way it may be useful for some other people like those with English as a second language. So ‘tick’ — you are making your communication accessible, because if it is written for people with ID, it will be OK for everyone else.
Let’s check that out.
Do all people with ID manage to read and understand 14-word sentences? Can they read multiple sentences of 14 words in length?
Not sure about you, but I am yet to meet such a person in my day-to-day work. It doesn’t mean they are not out there. And yet, I have more than 35 years speech pathology clinical experience working with a range of people with ID.
Then there are the pictures, which many times are photos in Easy Read. They are often complex with non-specific ideas and concepts in them. And many used in Australia are from the UK. So, UK trees, houses, public transport, health service, demographics, etc. Not relatable to the Australian context. Adding these pictures and photos does not mean it helps the reader’s comprehension and for the reader to know what to do.
Graphic designer research tells us, if you make no connection to a photo, because it does not look like you or a person you, know you ignore it. So photos?
Have you checked out this research?
Buell et al (2019) has some great data for you to think about. A group of 60 people with ID were involved in the study
· average vocabulary of the adults was equivalent to 9 years of age, but with adult experiences
· average reading skill equivalent for this group was 7 years of age (average Grade 2 in Victoria, Australia).
The average reading skills required to read Easy Read in Australia is currently at Grade 6.5. This is on average in Victoria an 11–12-year-old. It has a range of reading skill requirement from Grade 4 to Year 12 (end of high school).
These data points do not match.
So why are you writing or procuring Easy Read? It is not fit for purpose for the vast majority of all our community with low literacy. Nor is it fit for purpose for the vast majority of people with ID.
Deborah Chinn’s 2019 study also provides valuable insights to consider. She interviewed different Easy Read developers. She found there was no consensus on best practice. Each group interpreted the guidelines in their own way. There appeared to be widespread definitions of the intended audience and the context of when and how it was being used. In reviewing the actual content, she found the Easy Read was telling the reader the positive message only, or what the writer wanted them to do. It did not allow for meaningful decision making, as the reader never heard the negative reason for doing something. For example, having a blood test.
And in the end, Easy Read states it is a summary of another document.
So let’s look at a couple of examples from Australia.
Example details and links at end of blog.
So what is it you, the buyer can do.
Stop.
Look at the Easy Read. Try to read it yourself. Does it make sense? Do you know what the pictures could mean? What does the amount of content on a page feel like for you?
If you have any difficulty with any aspect of using the Easy Read, be assured, every person with low literacy will have this and more problems.
What to do?
Follow the evidence.
We write Easy English. Here are some examples from our team.
Example details and links at end of blog.
The details described above about Easy Read, has been known for 19 years.
My first job in this space (2004/2005) was to review what was being developed in the UK, back then. The research and my analysis identified and confirmed that, conceptually Easy Read was a ‘good idea,’ and ‘better than what they had had before.’ But critically, it also stated, it needed to be better.
In that time, Easy Read has not changed. Our analysis shows it is now more complex, and more cluttered and more varied now in 2024, than in 2004. Yes, it is harder to read and understand, and know what to do with it.
Anyone who tries to tell you Easy English is the same as Easy Read does not know what they are talking about.
Anyone who says there is debate about whether they are the same or different has not looked at Easy Read and Easy English side-by-side. There is no debate.
How is it that people with low literacy can tell the difference between them?
But procurement teams, and Easy Read developers can not or do not.
Easy English is designed for lots of different people with different skills who have ID, including people who have few or no words they can read.
Easy English uses universal design principles. It removes barriers so more people can access your information.
Easy English is also for any person with low literacy (remember that is at least 44% of Australian adults). Plus those in trauma, in emergencies, sick or have English as a second language. Those who are time poor, carers, older people. The list goes on.
Easy English is written to an average equivalence of Grade 1.5 reading skills, ranging from Grade 0 to Grade 3. This matches the data points from Buell’s study, above. Easy English has an average of 5–8 words per sentence. The vast majority of words are single syllable.
And pictures? We use them too. We choose images that reflect that community. When writing for a disability service with many people with ID or perhaps cerebral palsy, we choose different sets of images compared with writing content for a local council, such as Nillumbik Shire Council or Parks Victoria. Why? Because the research tells us this is what helps the readers emotional engagement with the content and their comprehension.
Reflecting on the Chinn study, that found lots of variation in Easy Read development; the Easy English guidelines are different to Easy Read guidelines. The Easy English guidelines include very specific elements that are measurable and repeatable, across all aspects of development — format and design, language, images and image choices and consumer review.
And Chinn’s review that Easy Read includes the positive, or what you want the reader to do, rather than all options. This was a really useful task to review in Easy English. For example, in the development of ‘Consent to share your key’ for a disablity service(so the support worker can enter your home, to assist you get up in the morning), our Easy English included what happens if you do not agree to share your key. i.e. we can not help you in the morning.
Easy English is not a summary of another document. It stands alone as information that any person with low literacy can engage with to make meaingful decisions. It is based on all the information available that people with more developed literacy also use.
We are working in other countries, and in other languages too. So, in South Korea, we are working towards the development of Easy Korean, and in Malaysia one of a number of different dialects, in Easy Malay. The overarching label for languages other than English we are describing as Easy {your language} using evidence based easy-to-read techniques. It covers all aspect of development including
· consistent uncluttered lay out and format
· easy to read language techniques — language specific
· specific and iconic images (They are highly guessable. You do not need to learn them to understand their meaning from the last time you saw that picture)
· consumer review in 1:1 engagement
· where and how people with low literacy can access your content.
We continue to learn and always improve how and what consumers who really do have low literacy tell us they need.
We have been recognised nationally and internationally for our world leading, evidence-based best-practice development. We are the only organisation anywhere with this recognition.
These are some papers and posters and international conference presentations to help you know more about the significant and clear differences between Easy English and Easy Read.
There are discussions in our blog too.
It is access. It is inclusion. It is participation.
It is only when it is in Easy English.
Learn more. Ask questions. Come to any of our webinars or award winning 2 day training to find out more.
· Plain Language, Easy English, Easy Read explained. 17 July, 2024.
· Insights to Literacy for Comms and Marketing. 29 May, 2024.
· Let’s be Clear- webinar series — June, 2024
· Easy English and technology webinar series — July, 2024.
Ask us how we can support you in developing the only evidence-based best practice development for people with low literacy. It is called Easy English.
Cathy and the Access Easy English team.
Cathy Basterfield
Founder 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
LinkedIn: Cathy Basterfield and Access Easy English
Twitter: @accesseasyengli
References
Buell, S., Langdon, P. E., Pounds, G., & Bunning, K. (2019). An open randomized controlled trial of the effects of linguistic simplification and mediation on the comprehension of “easy read” text by people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities JARID, 33(2), 219–231. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12666
Chinn, D. 2019 Talking to producers of Easy Read information for people with intellectual disability: Production practices, textual features, and imagined audiences. JIDD Vol 44. №4 410–420.
Examples from above.
Easy Read
- Knowing more about and giving more resources to groups who make information accessible in Australia (This is based on the same content as example 1. in Easy English)
2. National Principles on coercive control in family and domestic violence This includes 74 occurrences of the word coervice; has a reading skill requirement of Year 12.
Easy English
- In 2 parts Our report. You need information you can use and You can get information in the way you need(This is based on the same content as example 1. in Easy Read)
- Our report to the DRC. Group homes. Part 1
- COVID19. Look for the signs. January 2024 (Developed pro bono)
