Easy Read | Include.org

Breaking Down Barriers – there’s an app for that!

When healthcare information is accessible and understandable for all, it can literally save lives.

Alix Lewer, Founder and CEO of Include and The Include Champions helped to develop an accessible version of the CardMedic app…a tool that breaks down barriers to good communication in healthcare.

It’s a partnership that we are really honoured to be part of. We wanted to know a bit more about what the people at CardMedic thought, so we asked!

Rachael Grimaldi – Co-Founder and CEO of CardMedic

What is CardMedic’s mission?

At the point of care, the inability to communicate is the largest single contributor to health inequalities, and patients with additional communication needs make up nearly 50% of the population.

CardMedic’s mission is to break down communication barriers between healthcare staff and patients by making healthcare information accessible and understandable for all.

We’re committed to inclusive communication and believe in acknowledging and accommodating everybody, regardless of their communication needs. Our aim is to provide intuitive and cost-effective technology that empowers clinicians and patients to communicate quickly and efficiently across any barrier, enabling more effective delivery of care, reducing health inequalities, and improving patient outcomes.

Why did CardMedic want to work with Include?

We were really keen to work with Include because we share their mission to break down barriers and create a more inclusive world. At CardMedic, we recognise that accessible information is vital for ensuring equitable care delivery, so we couldn’t imagine a better partner.

Alix Lewer’s expertise as a Speech and Language Therapist, as well as Founder and CEO of Include, made it a no-brainer. She and her amazing team have been invaluable in helping us improve communication in healthcare and increase our understanding of the challenges people can face.

Together, we’ve been able to develop innovative solutions and resources that empower us to think differently about how we communicate. Particularly in a healthcare setting, we’ve learnt how to effectively communicate with patients with diverse communication needs and improve health outcomes for underserved populations.

Our shared vision of inclusivity and accessibility made us confident that partnering with Include would help us work towards a more equitable healthcare system for all.

How did the partnership help your project?

Alix is incredibly knowledgeable in the accessible information space and about the Mental Capacity Act (2005). She understands that inclusive communication means recognising and respecting all forms of communication–not just the written and spoken word.

Drawing on her knowledge of inclusive practice in health and social care, having worked as a Speech and Language Therapist in the NHS, Alix contributed to the initial development of an accessible version of the CardMedic app. Include’s lived experience Champions Group also continues to work with us to review our content regularly and provide feedback about accessibility.

Our partnership with Include has helped us refine our content to ensure that it’s as accessible as possible to individuals with diverse needs, including those with learning differences, visual and hearing impairments, and language barriers.

Alix’s expertise has helped us convert our library of scripts covering a vast array of clinical specialties and sub-specialties into Easy Read, at a reading age of 6 or under. This essentially means it is accessible to many more people than traditional information would be, both children and adults.

What would you say to others thinking of partnering with Include?

For anyone working in the accessibility, language, and communication space, they would be remiss not to reach out to Include! Include promotes inclusion and wellbeing, empowers people with additional communication needs, and ensures that they have equal access to services, facilities, and opportunities. They do a fantastic job of collaborating with businesses, educational institutions, and other organisations to help raise awareness of accessibility and provide practical solutions for inclusivity.

Include also offers brilliant training and consultancy services to help organisations improve their practices by making them more accessible. By partnering with Include, you’ll gain valuable insights, guidance, and resources to enable you to create a more inclusive environment.

The team are so friendly, and their expertise will help you address communication barriers and send out a powerful message about your commitment to inclusivity. All in all, we’d highly recommend partnering with Include!

Get in touch with Include, please email : info@include.org

More information : https://www.cardmedic.com/

(She won’t tell you herself, but while we are here and talking about healthcare…Alix won a Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists’ Giving Voice Award for voluntary work with The Mental Capacity Act Clinical Excellence Network – Raising Awareness of Supported Decision Making at End of Life.)

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

Reasonable Adjustments

At Include, we work hard to ensure that communication needs or disabilities are not a barrier to access or inclusion in our projects.

We proactively make reasonable adjustments – and we keep listening and checking what else we can do to ensure people have equal access.

We admit that we can always improve in this area.

Probably most services, charities and businesses can do more to enable genuine equality of access. We don’t just mean how easy a building is to access if you have a mobility issue. But the whole experience – how people interact and communicate, how we experience an environment or service from a sensory point of view etc.

A graphic representation of a ramp - explaining the things that support Communication access. 1 Raise Awareness of Communication Needs. 2 Increase Understanding of Inclusive Communication 3 Build confidence and self-advocacy in people with Communication needs 4 Train people to be inclusive communication partners.

Focussing on improvements that help individuals and getting it right tends to enhance things for everyone, with or without an additional need.

FREE Easy Read download about Reasonable Adjustments Download

As well as coproducing a FREE Easy Read on Reasonable Adjustments, our lived experience consultancy team The Include Champions are reviewing some of the things we do within Include and helping to fine-tune them.

By sharing this FREE Easy Read we hope more people with communication needs and disabilities will have better experiences when they go to work, interact with services or are customers in shops and restaurants.

Email

We recently talked about our emails.

We already use accessible fonts and Easy Read format – with a picture to reinforce each point.

But our members suggested that we use shorter and simpler links, and make the writing bigger.

Website

Image of a young man pointing at the colour red on a board which has two colours on it - red and blue

We’re becoming even more aware of the importance of colour contrast in terms of how easy, or not, it is to read and have started to use a new resource to check this: https://colourcontrast.cc

Furthermore, we are going to be working harder to make best use of alternative (Alt) Text to describe the images we use on our website and elsewhere. Thanks to Colin Grist from Few and Far for his recent free talk and tips on website accessibility.

A screen shot of a calendar of things Include.org is doing on 15th 18th and 19th of July. Which are Stroll and Sign on 15th at 11am, Epsom Include Choir on 18th at 6pm and Redhill Include Choir on 19th at 7.30pm

Our website provides project information in a calendar format so members can check at any time what projects are running, where and when. One of our Champions, Hannah is encouraging everyone to use it – it means you don’t have to wait for the emails!

Visuals

A photo of the list of songs that Include Choir members have put together on a board. Includes songs Any Dream Will Do, Three Little Birds, This is M, Sweet Caroline, I have a Dream, Fly a Kite, Don't Worry Be Happy, Shotgun and Wonderful World

Consultation and co-production are central to the way we do things, so naturally Include Choir members help to write lyrics and choose which songs we learn to sing and sign.

Visual and tactile prompts help people with communication needs. So, we make a physical list of song names with visuals using Velcro. Members choose from a whole table full of song options to decide which songs we perform at certain events.

Recently Hannah, one of our members has suggested that our song polls on Facebook also have an image to represent each song option to enhance understanding.

We also have a photo board at the choir sessions – this is for people to add themselves (sign in – without needing a pen) as they arrive and so everyone can see from the photos who is there that day.

Recently we have had feedback to say that we should make the signing in board a bit more organised so that volunteers are shown in a board along with an idea of their role that day.

Objects

Hattie the hat stand is never far from Choir Director Alix’s side! There is a very good reason for that. We have Hattie because it carries all our props or objects of reference. We use physical props because some people find objects helpful to enhance understanding – because communication is more than signs or words.

Champion Beth feels the props are good as we have some visually impaired members – props can enhance their experience too. Member Philip loves the hat stand and Josh reminds us to include Hattie in some of our photos!

Location

A photo of 5 people walking down a path in the countryside chatting and using hand gestures while talking

Many of the adjustments we make are not to do with literal access ramps (often the first thing that comes to mind when people consider disability access). That said, when we run projects like our Stroll and Sign wellbeing walks, or perform as a choir in new locations we always risk assess beforehand.

An important element of that is assessing accessibility and working out what adjustments we may need to make. For example, regarding lighting in a car park, suitability for wheelchair users or access to a stage. And if we need to, we do feedback to venues about any issues to try to improve things.

If you would like some guidance on inclusive communication, or access to a lived experience a focus group to look at this topic for your organisation please get in touch: info@include.org

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

Vote like a Champion!

Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 4^th May, The Include Champions Group has created a FREE Easy Read guide to voting for people with communication difficulties.

Voting Easy Read Guide from Include.org:Download

Here is the audio to listen to the guide: https://soundcloud.com/include-org/voting-like-a-champion?

The My Vote, My Voice group have accessible information about voting on their website too.

Our Champions have been sharing their experiences:

Hannah’s experience

During Covid times, Hannah, one of our Champions voted by post. But gradually she has decided to go to a Polling Station.

She knows she can ask for help from the people working there but Hannah has become more confident over time about being independent when voting in person.

First, she talks about it with her family and thinks really carefully about who she wants to vote for. She now votes independently.

Planning Ahead

The Include Champions pointed out that if you live in supported accommodation, or a block of flats you might not get someone knocking on your door or putting a flyer through your door about their party. So, it’s not always easy to get information to be able to make a choice about who you want to vote for.

Despite that, our Champions did know about The Conservative Party, SDP (Social Democratic Party), Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, Green Party, Heritage Party and The New Forest Party. There are lots of options and you can talk to your friends and family and get ideas to help you make a choice about who to vote for.

Ellie voted by post – you need to register to do this before the election. Ellie’s Mum helped her do this online.

Voting in person

Some people prefer to vote in person. David said that it is too far to walk to the polling station, so he needs to ask for help / transport to get there.

Remember your Photo ID to vote in person.

If you are voting on your own and don’t know what to do, you can always go into the polling station and say “I am here to vote, please can you tell me which desk to go to.”

The helpers can’t actually tell you which party to vote for – that has to be your choice.

Apparently, all the polling station staff have been trained to look out for sunflower lanyards – so they know that people may want to be offered extra help. So, you can wear one if you have one.

More participation

Changes (set out in The Elections Act 2022) are designed to boost the political participation of people with disabilities in voting and standing as political candidates. The Local Government Association provides support to disabled councillors and those considering standing for election to their local council.

You can read more about it here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9718/

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

How do you run an Inclusive Quiz?

Last month we ran our first ever in person fundraising quiz!

In lockdown we hosted one on Zoom but this time it was in a lovely setting – The Old Council Chamber in Reigate.

Being Include.org this was not a standard quiz. It was an inclusive one.

What helps to make a quiz inclusive you may ask? Well…here are a few things we did…

Role Model Hosting by Ciara

Although the Mayor of Reigate and Banstead was ‘host’ in that he invited us to use the Town Hall venue, he took a seat with one of the quiz teams on the night, and the quiz was presented by our Patron Ciara Lawrence.

Ciara recently spoke on our first ever Podcast and made it clear that as a person with a disability she is on a mission to ensure more of the world sees people like her for who they are and what they can do.

Well, we now know for sure…Ciara can brilliantly host a quiz evening, engaging a whole room of people with authority, style and warmth!

Something for everyone

People played in teams and we had a real mix of rounds and formats which all played to different people’s sensory strengths:

Hearing – Name the song
Signing – What does the Makaton gesture mean
Taste and smell – Guess the crisp flavour
Touch – Identify the household item hidden inside the sock
Sight – Work out what the items are that we photographed very close up / micro
General Knowledge – Answer audio / video questions from supporters like TV’s Dan Walker, Marcus Ramtohul (also in our first Podcast) DJ SUAT and Cllr Jonathan Essex
TV knowledge – Easy Read questions from The Include Champions

We’re delighted to share the TV Quiz questions as the next FREE Easy Read resource in our series. Download Here (audio version to follow very soon):

Include’s Easy Read TV Quiz Q+ADownload

Inclusion Wins!

There is always more to be done in terms of inclusion. But we did our best with limited resources and we were delighted that the team that won The Include Quiz was a mixed group of people – some of whom only met each other that night. Meeting new people is not always easy for people with communication needs, so that in itself was a big win.

This team, called “The Team That Shall Not Be Named”, included volunteers, choir members and parents. There were people with autism and visual impairment, playing alongside people without additional needs. There were volunteers who have literally just joined Include working alongside members who have been around for years.

We know that there was a team with regular quiz winners in it who were defeated on this night. But this was not a regular quiz!

So that’s a win in our book.

Want to make your own event inclusive?

If you want to host an inclusive event why not speak to The Include Champions Group to get their ideas and tips based on their lived experience of being a person with a communication need and/or disability? Enquiries to info@include.org

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

What is Co-production, and is it important?

The Include Champions Group is a lived experience consultancy team, generating ideas, feedback and free accessible resources on important topics. Between us, group members have real world experience in of learning disabilities, autism and other communication needs.

Our latest FREE Easy Read resource is about Co-production. It helps to explain what Co-production is and why Include puts it at the heart of everything the charity does.

What-is-Co-production-FREE-Easy-Read Download

An audio version is on SoundCloud

Working together

Our dedicated Champions Group members meet every week via Zoom, and there is always something important to discuss, analyse and provide feedback on.

Last week we had an invite from Lloyds Bank seeking the input of people with additional needs. This is so the bank can try to design their services with everyone in mind.

We had a special guest on the Champions Group Zoom session last week – Cathy Wood who has joined Include’s Board of Trustees. She said:

“I was delighted to hear that Lloyds Bank are inviting Include members to provide feedback as experts by experience of what it is like to use their services with a communication need.”
Cathy W – Trustee of Include.org

Philip from the Include Champions Group said this;

“It makes us feel happy that they want our help. I’ll feel like I’ve achieved something and the bank is being helpful by asking us.”
Philip – Include Champion

We can help others

The Champions can teach services about their experiences and what helps them to communicate well.

For example, the Champions Group help design training for health professionals, to help them understand how to support people with communication needs in hospital.

The Champions can also help to check documents to make sure they are accessible. For example, the Champions worked with The Samaritans to make sure their flyer was easy to understand.

Trustee Cathy sums up:
“It was great to get more insight into the important work that The Include Champions Group does. Ensuring everyone has a clear idea of what Co-production is, and why it is important is such a valuable piece of work. We hope many organisations and individuals will make use of this Easy Read explainer.”

Please email us on info@include.org if you think you might like some help from The Include Champions Group.

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

Hello…we are the Champions!

Claudia, our new Speech and Language Therapy Assistant, who we introduced you to in December’s blog, has been getting to know The Include Champions Group a bit better.

We’re really proud of the Champions Group because they do some really important things, and we’d like everyone to have a chance to get to know the group better – not just Claudia!

So, our latest FREE Easy Read resource is made by the Include Champions about the Include Champions! It explains what the group does, why and how – all presented in an Easy Read format.

FREE Easy Read: We are the Include Champions Download

FREE Audio format on SoundCloud.

In summary, The Include Champions Group is a lived experience consultancy team, generating ideas, feedback and free accessible resources on important topics including the Mental Capacity Act and Inclusive Communication.

Members have real world experience of learning disabilities, autism and other communication needs.

Dedicated group members meet every week via Zoom, and there is always something important to discuss, analyse and provide feedback on.

Time to Talk Day (2nd Feb), which encourages people to have conversations about mental health, seemed like a good day to re-share two of the Easy Read resources produced by our group:

Kind Communication
Listening Skills

As our CEO Alix says in her guest blog for Browning York; “Today is ‘Time to Talk’ day – a day designed to promote conversation and communication to benefit everyone’s mental health. Let’s also think about the communication which uses more than words to include people – the biggest kindness of all.”

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

Claudia and the Easy Read Christmas Quiz

At about the same time shops started selling Christmas items, Claudia joined the Include staff team.

Here she introduces herself and our free Easy Read Christmas Quiz.

“I’ve joined Include as a Speech Therapy Assistant.

Having Attention deficit and Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), means that my brain is wired differently from what is considered normal. In other words, I am neurodivergent just like most Include members. I only found out I had ADHD at the end of my Master’s degree in speech and language therapy, when multiple social barriers made life very difficult.

The challenges of being a highly functional young neurodivergent adult, made me realise that much needs to be done to implement the social model of disability in our society. In other words, much needs to be done for society to start seeing that impairments are most often caused by social barriers. With this in mind, I knew I had to somehow be part of Include when I saw their new speech therapist job opportunity. So, I applied even though I only fully qualify as a speech therapist next January and I live 90 miles away.

Joining Include

From day one, I felt welcomed and comfortable enough to share my neurodivergence with senior members of staff. Not only I felt incredibly supported, but also felt that my neurodivergence was seen as a strength.

It is really amazing to find organisations such as include! Indeed, seeing difference as a valuable asset is at the core of the organisation culture and this was clear from the day I interviewed for the job. To my great surprise, an include member who has a learning disability, was part of the interview panel. If our society was as inclusive as Include, experiencing this would not have been a surprise for me. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to see small changes towards a more inclusive world and certain that I had made the right decision by applying to Include!

Working with The Champions Group on the Christmas Quiz

The Include Champions Group sessions do more than just collaboratively produce content with people that have communication difficulties. From the first session, I felt a sense of union and friendship between all members of the group. Just like when friends meet, these sessions start with members spontaneously sharing how their week was and things they are looking forward to.

Free Easy Read Christmas Quiz Download

You will find the free audio format when you click here: SoundCloud

Alongside the collaborative work, group members also discuss various topics of their interest. This was no different at the last champions group session, where we jointly worked on the Christmas quiz.

Within this session we not only worked on the quiz but discussed different Christmas traditions.

Having in mind that I am Portuguese and Christmas traditions are quite different from England, this was such an interesting conversation!

I was very surprised to learn that traditionally some people in England set their Christmas pudding on fire and the champions were surprised to learn most Portuguese people eat salted cod with their Christmas dinner.

I suppose what made this conversation intriguing was that our differing perspectives on what constitutes a “traditional” Christmas were acknowledged as part of our world’s diversity. To put it simply, Christmas traditions are just forms of Christmas celebrations. Just like gestures, signs and body language are just forms of communication. If all forms of communication are equally embraced, people with communication difficulties have fewer barriers and fewer difficulties. This is what the social model of disability theorises and what Include.org believes!

If you are reading this blog, you are probably already contributing to this. Include is here to help if not!

We wish you all a merry Christmas and a more inclusive happy new year too.”

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

Easy Read Halloween QUIZ

Include.org FREE Halloween quiz – questions and answer sheet Download

You may well do our quiz and find out lots of things about Halloween traditions and how it all started…but our Champions Group decided that these days Halloween is actually an opportunity to demonstrate some more up-to-date values!

We have to respect that some people don’t celebrate Halloween – even if they did as a child.

It can be difficult to enjoy the idea of people you don’t know knocking on your door and asking for things!

Philip one of our members, remembers an event from his childhood when his Dad chose ‘trick’ but what happened next, (with foam coming in through the letterbox) was actually quite intimidating and Philip can appreciate that for some people Halloween may make them feel nervous. Others in the group recalled tricks involving eggs being thrown at windows.

When you live in shared accommodation, as Ellie and Hannah do, they know that they need to respect the fact that other residents may not what any involvement in Halloween.

So being kind and remembering that is important.

However, at least half of our champions do have plans to dress up and do fun things for Halloween. Anna is dressing up as a vampire with the teeth and everything for a party she is going to with a group…and she hopes to have some red wine to drink, if not any blood!

Philip has already dressed up as The Joker, and Simon as scarecrow, for a Halloween disco.

Hannah has plans to dress up for a spooky themed Zoom.

There is also the opportunity to do our quiz instead of Trick or Treating!

Include.org FREE Halloween quiz – questions and answer sheet Download

For the audio format quiz use SoundCloud.

We talked about other things that can help to make Halloween more respectful and inclusive.

It was agreed that the idea of only knocking on doors where people have left out a pumpkin and decorations is a good way to leave people alone who do not like to celebrate Halloween.

Equally it is possible to be considerate as a home-owner too. Neighbourhoods can make a plan to ensure everyone can still get involved in halloween safely.

For example, if you notice someone with a blue pumpkin / collecting bucket at your door it is good to know that this is a sign that the person has autism and may find it hard to speak or interact in the conventional way. We also heard of an example where the parents of a young boy (who has severe food allergies) give treats to local houses to give back to their boy when he goes trick or treating in his own road, so he feels included and is still safe.

These are good examples of empowering people with additional needs and their communities to take part in Halloween in ways that work for everyone.

We also found this from https://www.instagram.com/elizabethrussoart/ and wanted to share it. There is more information on Elizabeth Russo’s Instagram.

Here is a timely reminder of Include’s values:

Kind

Empowering

Fun

Inclusive

Respectful

And finally, a Halloween song from The Include Choir: https://youtu.be/aIRhUwJKggU

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

How has life changed for people with learning disabilities?

This month, between the Platinum Jubilee and Learning Disability Week 2022, our Champions Group has been reflecting on how life has changed for people with learning disabilities during the Queen’s reign.

We also talked about what was going on for the royal family in each decade, memorable moments like when people walked on the moon – and chose a favourite song from each decade (like Don’t Stop Me Now from the 1970s). So, we hope this Easy Read will inspire you in many ways.

Download now FREE Easy Read on how life has changed for people with learning disabilities Download

Here is the link to our audio version https://soundcloud.com/user-683393051-385203358/platinum-jubilee-special?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

But it might shock you too.

It’s hard to believe that in the 1950s, when Queen Elizabeth II first came to the throne it was common for children with learning disabilities to leave their families to live in ‘long-stay hospitals’ and attending school was not an option.

The Include Champions believe that access to education for all is important. Philip said that it was down to going to school that he has been able to get a job. David said he learned to speak French at college and Hannah cooks her own meals having learned in education. Three great examples.

People Making Change Happen

We celebrated some of the people who really helped to turn the tide and change the way society looks at disability.

Some of the first research into what is actually best for children with Learning Disabilities didn’t happen until 1950s! Joss rightly found this surprising “Are you joking?! That was the first piece of research ever to have been done?!”

In 1958 Professor Jack Tizard published his findings – the headline – children with Learning Disabilities should not be taken away from their families and would live better lives in the community.

Then in 1964, the Jean Vanier invited two men with learning disabilities to live in his home rather than in a hospital – the first L’Arche Community home was set up in France. This paved the way for many more people with learning disabilities to return to the heart of their communities. Of Jean Vanier, Joss said “What a great bloke!”

Everyone Can Make A Change

We also talked about how in day-to-day life it’s sadly not just the people who do good things that we remember – we also often remember bad things that people say to us. The Champions Group started talking about how important it is to try to use words that are kind and respectful when talking about people, especially in the context of disability.

All that matters is that we are here and we are thinking about each other and we care.

Hannah summed the conversation up so well… “All people have different abilities anyway. We are all different. It doesn’t matter what we are, it doesn’t have to be perfect or anything, all that matters is that we are here and we are thinking about each other and we care and, plus we need to think about this really carefully.”

And that my friends, is inspiration for a future Easy Read about why words matter.

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager

Bumper Easter Easy Read

Our Include Champions were so inspired by spring and Easter, that the group’s ideas and have resulted in a whole pack of Free Easy Read resources, including a quiz!

Download the Easy Reads below and find the audio versions too. If you want to really test yourself look at the quiz first and the other things after!

Spring and Easter Easy Read Quiz QuestionsDownload

Click to listen to the Quiz Questions and Answers

Spring and Easter Easy Read Quiz AnswersDownload

Easy Read Easter StoryDownload

Click to listen to the Easter Story

Easy Read Spring and Easter Fun FactsDownload

Click to listen to the Fun Facts

From hot cross buns and the clocks changing, to Jesus’ disciples and daffodils…Ellie, Simon, Philip and Josh cover lots of themes that are relevant at this time of year!

Plus, our first ever Easy Read resource, which launched our free series last year, is all about Ramadan – so also very relevant this month.

Ramadan Easy Read Download

Our Champions have plans to share these resources with their own networks, from support staff and friends, to arts and social groups.

Who could you share these Free Easy Read resources with?

Penny Sims
Communications and Partnerships Manager