Co-producing easy read — Paul Scarrott

I was really pleased to be invited to the CQC meeting on making easy read easier to understand.

Easy read involves using pictures, big text and simple language to make sure anyone can understand the information.

Easy read is important for people with learning disabilities to help them understand information. If information is not in easy read, a lot of people with learning disabilities cannot understand it and this cuts them out and makes them feel excluded.

Because of this “I think it is really good that the CQC are working hard to make sure information is accessible and easy to read, and that they are involving people with learning disabilities.”

At the meeting, we talked about the best symbols to use for some things, and talked about some of the best easy read we have seen.

I am an expert in easy read communication because I have a learning disability and work with lots of people with learning disabilities all the time.

I work with My Life My Choice, a self-advocacy charity for people with learning disabilities. Some of our members are able to read lots of information, but some really struggle. If information is in easy read, everyone can read it and understand.

It is really great when experts like me can get involved in designing easy read symbols because we understand how hard it can be to understand information, and what information is hard to understand.

Thank you CQC for including people with learning disabilities like me.