The use of Easy English has transformed the Eurobodalla Shire Council’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2022 into a simple, easy-to-read document that is more accessible.
The Eurobodalla Shire’s demographic profile shows the community is growing and ageing, with increasing numbers of people with mobility, cognitive and sensory disabilities.
The four-year plan includes 22 actions to make the Eurobodalla Shire an inclusive place where everyone can join in and feel they belong, including people with disability.
To easily understand the plan, 40-pages have been condensed into 16-pages of Easy English, thanks to a team of writers and speech pathologists from Scope Australia.
Council’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan review officer Steve Picton said Easy English helps by reducing stress and uncertainty through clear information, simple language, and meaningful images.
“Council partnered with Scope Australia to develop, test and create this inclusive and accessible document,” Mr Picton said.
“Scope used an evidence-based approach to design and write the new document which was tested to ensure it was truly accessible before being released.”
Shire resident and disability advocate, Andrew Radford, was pleased his voice was heard in the process of developing the full plan and said the Easy English version was “fantastic”.
The full version of the plan was adopted by Council on 14 June 2022 after community consultation through surveys and working groups.
Both versions of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2022 can be viewed on Council’s website: https://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/
Above: Andrew Radford and Steve Picton launch the Easy English version of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2022 at Batemans Bay Library.
