Fact Sheet 5. Providing your information in different formats
This Fact Sheet introduces the different formats you can
use to make your information accessible to a wide audience.
For example, many people access information through audio
and video technology, podcasts and sound files on their
computers, IPods and MP3 players. Just as providing
information in an Easy to Read format helps everyone, not
just people with learning disabilities, providing different
formats widens choices for everyone. It also helps you to
meet the requirements of the Disability Act, 2005.
As Fact Sheet 4 shows, structuring your information
correctly makes it easier to transfer information into
different formats, including HTML, PDF documents, Clear
Print documents, large print, Easy to Read documents,
Braille, video and audio.
A master copy will make it more manageable and cost effective if you have a quick method of producing different formats and clearly advertise that these formats are available on request.
Overview of different formats
Braille: Braille is a reading and writing system of raised dots that is read by touch. To transcribe a document into Braille, the Word document must be structured correctly and without complex formatting such as graphs or bar charts. Braille should be produced by a professional Braille transcription agency. For more information on Braille and on making documents accessible to people who are blind or vision impaired, visit the website of the National Council for the Blind in Ireland, www.ncbi.ie or locall 1850 33 43 53.
| By law, all pharmaceutical packaging and patient information leaflets (PILs) must be available in Braille. Through the Pharmabraille initiative, NCBI has developed a training course for pharmaceutical companies that teaches the basics of Grade 1 Braille. Interest from pharmaceutical companies across Ireland has been strong. A leading Irish packaging company works with NCBI to produce Braille labels for pharmaceutical companies in Ireland and internationally. |
Audio: Audio information is easily
stored on CDs, audio cassettes and sound files.
New technology makes it easy to transfer information into
an audio format, for example by downloading podcasts or
audio files from the Internet onto IPods and MP3 players.
In some cases it might be helpful to provide subtitles and
/ or an Irish Sign Language (ISL) signer along with an
audio file.
If you are creating audio files, it is important to use
professional and experienced readers and high-quality
commercial recording equipment. The NCBI Media Centre has
five recording studios and a sound engineering team. It
converts hard and soft documents into Braille and audio
formats and is the largest centre of its kind in Ireland.
For more information, see www.ncbi.ie.
Video: Video is an accessible way of
providing information to anyone, not just those who cannot
read. You can see this in the popularity of YouTube and
video players on IPods. However, video clips do not work
well for conveying detailed information such as directories
of services.
DVDs and video are particularly helpful for deaf people and those with literacy difficulties. DVDs and videos with subtitles and Irish Sign Language are a preferred format for many deaf people. When creating DVDs and videos, always consider using narration, on-screen text and graphics, and aim for the highest possible sound and video quality. The Irish Deaf Society has facilities for producing signed videos and DVDs. Its website has an example of a video with sign language. For more information, go to www.irishdeafsociety.ie.
| An example of how video can be used to provide information is a DVD on family reunification policies in Ireland, produced by the Forum on Migration and Communication (FOMACS) with the Immigrant Council of Ireland. The DVD makes immigration law on family reunification accessible to a large number of people. For more information, see www.immigrantcouncil.ie. |
Audio Description: Audio description is the name given to a narrative track on television, movies, the performing arts and the visual arts to communicate the story to people who are blind or vision impaired. Audio description enriches the enjoyment of the plot or content of visual passages or moments in a programme, performance or film. It is also a relevant format for people with learning disabilities, literacy difficulties and anyone who enjoys listening to information.
NCBI also provides an audio description service for information produced in a video format. See www.ncbi.ie.
| Mary has been profoundly deaf since birth and uses Irish Sign Language (ISL) as her main mode of communication. Mary's literacy level is low and she has difficulty understanding most written information. During the last census, the Central Statistics Office sent Mary the census information on a DVD with Irish Sign Language translation. This gave Mary the confidence to fill out the census form for the first time. In previous years, she had made excuses to the census officer about why she hadn't filled out the form. |
Plain English: Plain English is written
to be understood. Using plain English ensures that
documents are written clearly and concisely, there is no
confusion about meaning and jargon is kept to a minimum.
All documents produced to provide information to the public
should be written in plain English.
www.nala.ie/plain-english-editing
Easy to read: Easy to Read documents are particularly important for people with intellectual disabilities, people with literacy difficulties and people whose first language is not English. In practice, many of us like an Easy to Read document because the information is short, clear, illustrated and structured around key messages. Easy to Read documents can serve as summaries at the start of a written document or can stand alone. Always make sure that the Easy to Read document has the same structure, message and content as all other formats. A number of organisations can help you to prepare Easy to Read documents. For more information, go to Inclusion Ireland's website, www.inclusionireland.ie
| BreastCheck has developed an Easy to Read document on breast screening to improve access to and participation in BreastCheck services by women with intellectual and learning disabilities. BreastCheck found that the document was widely used by women, particularly women with little English. BreastCheck is a free health service, funded by the Department of Health and Children, which aims to reduce deaths from breast cancer by finding and treating the disease at an early stage. The booklet, A Guide to Breast Screening provides information for carers, family, friends, medical guardians and women themselves. |
| HIQA, in association with Inclusion Ireland, produced an Easy to Read version of the draft National Quality Standards for Residential Services for People with Disabilities. This was developed following discussions at focus groups where people with disabilities gave feedback on the standards. The Easy to Read version gives people with intellectual disability information on the standards that they can understand. Because of this they know what to expect of the residential services they use and can make their voice heard if the standards are not met. |
Electronic documents: Documents can be published electronically as PDFs, HTML or MS Word documents. The guidelines contained in Fact Sheet 4 on designing your information for accessibility also apply to documents that are published electronically.
PDFs should be structured so that they can be read and navigated using assistive technologies such as the text-to-speech software used by web users who are blind and vision impaired. However, tagged PDFs are not fully accessible to all assistive technologies, so you should provide a fully accessible format, such as HTML, as well.
MS Word documents may not be accessible unless they have been structured using heading styles. Also, images and information in tables are not accessible in MS Word format. For more information, see the National Disability Authority's website, www.nda.ie.
| In early 2010 the Office of the Ombudsman looked at the accessibility of its information for the public. They wanted to ensure that everyone in Ireland who believes they have been badly treated by a public body knows that the Office exists, and may be in a position to help them. It overhauled its website, installed the latest version of 'Browsealoud' and Plain English proofed its information literature. Following an approach by the Irish Deaf Society an accessible DVD was produced to explain the role of the Office of the Ombudsman and the services it provides. The DVD was made with capacity to reach a broader audience and can be further developed over time e.g. to add subtitles in different languages. The DVD is available on the Office's website. It is accessible to everyone and specially designed for those with varying access needs, including people who are blind, visually impaired, hard of hearing or functionally deaf. The design and structure includes facilities such as lip-reading, sign language and subtitles, and is easy to navigate. Further Information can be found on www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en/AccessibleServices. |
Accessible emails: Emails have become a vital source of communication so it is important that you develop accessible tools for email use. Use plain English in all emails, write clearly and avoid jargon. Use plain text emails so that readers can see the information in the way you intend. Plain text emails are the most accessible, especially for people using screen readers. A Screen Reader will read aloud information from your computer screen so you can listen to it. If you use HTML emails, follow the accessibility guidelines for web pages, which you will find in Fact Sheet 6.
For plain text emails, use the Text Email Newsletter (TEN) Standard – see www.headstar.com/ten. When emailing to groups you can offer a plain text version, a plain text with the HTML version attached, or you can let the recipient choose which version to subscribe to.
Pictures and symbols: Pictures and symbols can make information easy to understand and are a useful way to communicate information. Symbols are usually simple line drawings that are used to represent words and ideas. They can help to make written information accessible. People with intellectual disabilities and literacy difficulties may find illustrations and symbols a more effective form of communication. In addition, pictures and symbols can be used to communicate with people with mental health difficulties or to approach areas difficult to discuss. Symbols, illustrations, photographs and pictures can all help people to understand the content of the document.
NCBI can tell you how to make pictures and symbols accessible to people who are blind and vision impaired.
It is important to use pictures and symbols appropriately. Various types of symbols have been developed for use by people with intellectual disabilities and literacy difficulties. See the further resources section at the end of this Fact Sheet for details of websites providing pictures and symbols.
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The advocate in the CUMAS advocacy service in Carlow and Kilkenny used the picture bank from 'Gifts of the Image Bank' Change Picture software in her work with a woman who has a mild intellectual disability and literacy difficulties. The officer used picture-based information to explore the pros and cons of the woman's housing options in a way that was meaningful to her. The advocate showed a picture of each option (living in the community, living in a Health Services Executive hostel, private rental, and so on) to the woman on separate pages. At the top of the page, the advocate put a ‘thumbs up' to record the positives of this option and at the bottom of the page a ‘thumbs down' to record the negatives of this option. She also developed a trigger sheet which had pictures of money, medication, cleaning, cooking, friends, keys, day centre and so on to help the client consider all the factors of living independently. The woman found this helpful and the picture format definitely was more meaningful to her. |
Text messaging: Text messaging by phone using SMS (short text messaging service) is a very accessible information format for a wide range of information users and is particularly popular among deaf people. You can encourage text messaging by advertising a mobile phone number or by introducing telephone landlines that accept and send text messages.
| Kevin used to enjoy going to theatre but his
progressive hearing loss prevented him from going any
more. Recently, his local theatre started showing
captioned productions (displaying the actors' lines on
a screen) once a month, offering online ticket booking
and email reservations as well as SMS booking requests.
This enabled Kevin to renew his theatre passion. He
books his tickets by text, using his mobile
phone. Mary's local doctor is willing to communicate information and appointments through text messaging. This is Mary's only way to get help in an emergency (her son has chronic asthma) as there is no 999 or emergency call service for deaf or hard of hearing people. |
Information in Irish Sign Language and other languages: Many information providers provide information in other languages. It is important that translation is carried out professionally and is respectful of people's values, religion and culture. Information that is interpreted into Irish Sign Language for deaf people or into other languages spoken in the community can be provided through face-to-face contact or by video links. See the Sign Language Interpreting Service website; www.slis.ie
Where documents are translated into other languages spoken in the community, it is important to use words and symbols that people from minority ethnic groups will be familiar and comfortable with. It is also important to be aware that some minority ethnic people may have difficulty reading their own mother-tongue. If this is the case, you will need to develop other forms of information for them.
| One Citizens Information Centre has used the skills of the local community by asking local Polish people to volunteer as interpreters for other Polish people who need information. In practice, the CIC has found that this works best if the Polish interpreter has been trained as an information provider and has worked in the CIC. |
Be creative about other information mediums that you can use. There is a wide range of inclusive and creative ways in which you can provide information. These include workshops, drama productions, radio, television, newspapers, magazines, audio tapes, CDs, videos, computer-based information, leaflets and booklets.
| Traveller women, working through the Traveller Primary Health Care Project, use drama to inform other Traveller women of their rights and entitlements. This allows women take ownership of the information and make it culturally appropriate for their community. Many Traveller women do not access written information because of literacy difficulties. |
It is important to use an appropriate format and medium for your information. Make sure to use the same information in each format. To achieve this, it is best to use the same design and layout for all of your information. Remember to advertise your different formats in all of your publications.
Further resources
National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) provides a range of services and resources - Braille transcription, audio recording, audio description, website accessibility audits and advice on clear print layout and design. www.ncbi.ie
The Royal National Institute for the Blind in the UK has an information pack, See it Right Guidelines, with useful information on making audio recordings and videos for people with vision impairments.
Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS) is the national agency for the provision of sign language interpreting services in Ireland. www.slis.ie
Irish Deaf Society provides a range of resources for providing signed information on DVD. www.irishdeafsociety.ie
DeafHear have a range of information on improving access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people www.deafhear.ie
Kerry Deaf Resource Centre (2004), Providing Information for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. Not available electronically.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland's website has information on migrants' rights in video and DVD formats. www.immigrantcouncil.ie
Easy Info has resources to help make information accessible for people with learning disabilities. This includes guidance on how to use symbols and pictures and make documents easy to read. www.easyinfo.org.uk
CHANGE, The CHANGE picture bank contains over 500 images to help make information accessible. There is a small license fee. www.changepeople.co.uk
The ‘Worth a Thousand Words' website has 1,500 photos
that you can use to make information accessible to people
with learning disabilities.
www.worthathousandwords.co.uk
Widgit Rebus: Writing with Symbols 2000. www.widgit.com
Makaton Vocabulary. www.makaton.org
Books Beyond Words These are picture books to improve communications through pictures. They are relevant for a wide range of users, including people with learning difficulties.
The National Disability Authority's easy to read version
of its customer action plan 2004-2006 is an example of an
easy to read document.
NDA Easy to read Customer Action Plan
The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) has a range of resources for presenting easy to read documents. www.nala.ie
The Institute for Design and Disability provides professional services on design for all, disability advocacy and consultancy. www.idd.ie
