Jean Ross and Janet Pringle
The Vocational and Rehabilitation Research Institute (VRRI)
3304 - 33 Street N.W.
Calgary, Alberta
CANADA T2L 2A6

Phone: (403) 284-1121, ext. 383
E-mail: vrri@telus.net
Web: www.vrri.org

Jean:
I have a developmental disability. That just means it takes me a bit longer to learn things. I like to do lots of the same things as other people. I have all the same feelings too. Sometimes people think we have no feelings if we have a disability. They are wrong. I can get very mad when people call me names.

I am going to talk to you about my work as a translator. That is when I work with Janet and some others to make things easy to read.

People with developmental disabilities should be able to do as much for themselves as they can. That means they need things to be in plain words, so they can read and understand them. We need to be able to read about lots of things, like:

• ways to stay well
• to find jobs
• to understand what a medical consent form says before we agree to it
• to take our pills without mistakes
• to read when good TV shows are on, or which bus to take.

We need to be able to read labels and prices when we shop for food.

It's not fair when things we need to know are not written so we can read them. We feel left out. We have to wait for our support workers, or our family to tell us things. Sometimes they don't have time or they forget. We should be able to read them for ourselves.

Janet:
Just before we go further, I think a definition of developmental disability may be useful. The one we use in Alberta defines a developmental disability as one that involves substantial limitations in at least two basic living skills, such as self-care, managing a home, managing a budget, functional academics, or finding and keeping a job. As well, there must be a lower than normal IQ (below about 70). It applies to people who had pre- or peri-natal abnormalities or who have acquired disabilities (either from an illness or an accident) before reaching adulthood; and the condition must be long-standing. In Britain, the equivalent term for developmental disability is learning disability. In the US, the term often used is mental retardation. That label is hated by many of those who have to wear it.

Jean has given you good reasons for putting written information into plain language, so I won't add much here. There will always be some people in this population who do not read at all. For some who have severe disabilities, plain language materials can help their families or staff find ways to explain things in simple terms. For some others, basic reading skills are lacking merely because of inadequate schooling (especially among older people who spent their childhoods in institutions). For them, having materials which someone can read to them is helpful. For the rest, and these will be the majority of people with developmental disabilities, all they need is simple text.