6 June 2022

A2i’s Easy Read User Group – the benefits

Easy Read – the basics

Easy Read is an increasingly popular written format that makes information accessible and easy to understand for adults with a learning disability.

However, a good Easy Read document can actually be quite difficult to create!

In summary, Easy Read translation involves

re-writing your information using simple language and grammar
careful use of the right tone
adding appropriate pictures to help readers understand the text
using a clear layout, and
maintaining consistency throughout your document.

A2i’s Easy Read User Group

A2i have in-house experts to produce Easy Read translations for our clients. But in addition to these expertise, we also work in partnership with our local branch of MENCAP, the UK’s leading learning disability charity, to run an Easy Read user group. The group comprises adults with learning disabilities, along with their support workers, MENCAP mentors and A2i staff.

We meet regularly with this group to get valuable feedback about Easy Read documents we have produced, or are in the process of creating. They also give us general feedback that we can implement across our Easy Read service.

A2i staff at User Group

At A2i we feel it’s important to get direct input from the people most likely to use our documents. We value their suggestions and advice and know they are helping us to produce the best and most accessible Easy Read documents we can.

The group sessions are interactive with exercises and games mixed in with breaks, snacks and lunch. Activities at the group include:

Matching sentences to images – to help us learn which images are most effective and increase understanding of the text
Talking about the meaning of words and phrases, and any definitions we’ve used to explain tricky and complicated words.
Discussing what certain images convey
Talking about the best page and image layout to use
Review of whole documents – asking for feedback and suggestions for improvements
Games and exercises to get opinions of Easy Read forms, in particular question style, response options, and layout

All of this valuable feedback and information is compiled, analysed and passed to our Easy Read transcribers for discussion and implementation.

A lady writing feedback on a whiteboard

There are benefits for our group members too. They get the opportunity to influence how we produce documents they will potentially use. Having more documents available in Easy Read and making sure they are accessible and user friendly means more information for everyone which leads to independent lives.

Also,

it helps participants improve important skills, for example, communication and team working skills
it’s good practice for future job roles
it’s a good project to put on participants CVs and talk about at job interviews
members are given a gift voucher to thank them for their time and ensure any benefits they receive aren’t affected
there are lots of snacks to enjoy at each meeting!

More information about our Easy Read transcription service can be found on the Easy Read page of our website or read our Top 10 Easy Read FAQ’s.

A group of adults around a table looking at documents

Do you need Easy Read documents?

A2i provide

online, fully accessible Easy Read documents
editable Easy Read forms for use online or by email
print-ready Easy Read documents, for you to print out in small or large quantities as needed
Easy Read videos, which can be easier for some users who struggle to read
Easy Read surveys, for use as hard copies or online

For a quote please just get in touch with our friendly team:
Email: info@a2i.co.uk
Web: www.a2i.co.uk
Telephone: 01179 44 00 44
Or use our quick quote form