Welcome back to our Plain Language Series, where we have been exploring the use of plain language across a variety of settings, including in support of readers with more comprehension support needs. 

In Part 1, we covered some of the basics of plain language, and in Part 2, we took a closer look at some plain language writing guidelines. In Part 3, we shared some practices from guidelines focused on specialized writing for readers with higher comprehension support needs, and in Part 4, we will take a look at some different ways we can apply plain language skills.

So let’s dive right in!

If you are working with students or clients, you may find opportunities for written communication or creating your own resources that necessitate communicating complex ideas, either with plain or simplified language. 

Plain language guidelines, along with more focused guidelines such as the Autism Self-Advocacy Network, can help inform communication choices based on the subject matter and what you know about the support needs of the individual(s) you are writing for. While it may be a somewhat tedious process initially to work with those guidelines, the more you write in those styles, the easier it will be to pick them up when needed!

The guide linked above from ASAN includes a number of helpful guidelines for anyone seeking to write in a format resembling Easy Read. The guide was, however, created primarily for the purpose of converting complex documents into a language accessible to readers who need significant reading comprehension support. 

In this sense, ASAN’s guidelines can be especially helpful, as breaking down someone else’s complex idea for the purpose of readability for a student or client can be a challenging process! It is still a worthwhile effort, as a whole range of complex documents, from novels to important health information to educational guides, could be made more accessible with the right consideration for readability.

One other benefit of maintaining some knowledge about plain language and readability, even if you do not actively use those skills to create documents, is that it can help you evaluate other people’s plain language work and decide if it fits the needs of the individual you are supporting. 

While obviously the person we are supporting is the final judge of how effective any given tool is for meeting their own needs, we can also use our knowledge to filter out examples that are not as plain language as we would hope them to be. Bear in mind that just because a resource is not an effective example of plain language does not mean it has to be discarded! But recognizing it as such might entail taking on some different strategies. Some helpful questions to ask might include:

• Is this resource likely to be accessible to the person I am supporting?

• If not, are there still things about it worth sharing?

• How can I help to communicate those things more directly?

  • Can I create my own document in plain language?

  • Would it help to use a different communication tool in this case?

We hope that the last post (for now!) in this series has offered some ways you can start applying plain language in your own work or support, and that the series as a whole has offered some helpful information on its benefits and limitations. If you’d like to see us continue to cover this topic further, then we would love to hear from you at hello@autismgrownup.com, and as always, keep an eye out for all new series in the future!