Welcome to the Easy Read series, where we will be exploring the Easy Read writing format and its potential uses. 

In Part 1, we will explore the basics of Easy Read and how it works. In Part 2, we will take a closer look at who can benefit from Easy Read. We will round out the series by looking at its applications in the classroom and as an accessibility tool in Parts 3 and 4. Easy Read can help make information accessible to a wider range of readers across a variety of settings.

So let’s dive in!

The definition of Easy Read can vary a little bit depending on the source. Most agree that the core goal of Easy Read is to make a text easier to read by using simpler sentences and sometimes supplementary pictures. 

Our focus will be on the definition used by ASAN, which treats it as an important accessibility tool for people with disabilities to practice self-advocacy as well as a helpful tool for reaching a wide audience of readers. ASAN also includes a helpful Easy Read guide that can help to inform writing style.

The answer is: kind of! Both are styles founded on a principle of making information more accessible to a wider audience. Plain language tends to focus more on avoiding jargon and overly long sentence constructions. 

Easy Read, on the other hand, is a little more intentional about condensing sentences. ASAN even emphasizes the concept of one idea per line. So while Easy Read and Plain Language share some similarities, they are not interchangeable.

There is something to be said for finding ways to simplify our language in some cases. One classic example is public signage. It’s to our advantage to make it Easy Read by default so anyone can understand what it says. In other cases, there may be tradeoffs. 

Perhaps an Easy Read version of a book would not quite convey the full original meaning intended by the author. But having an Easy Read as an alternative to the original can still make it more accessible to a wider audience! 

While some details might be lost from the reading itself, that doesn’t preclude an Easy Read text from being a valuable component of better understanding a complicated text.

We will take a closer look at the applications of Easy Read as this series continues. But as a general rule, Easy Read can be a helpful tool whenever it seems like someone might benefit from access to a more simplified version of a text.

With that, we are wrapping up Part 1, but we are still interested in hearing your thoughts on the topic! If you want to share your experience with easy read or suggest another topic for our blog series, then we would love to hear from you! Just drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com and stay tuned for Part 2, where we will take a closer look at who can benefit from the Easy Read format!