Accessible information in the Corona crisis

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The Corona crisis has an impact on:

  • Health
  • Society
  • Economy
  • And our personal lifes.

There is new information every day,

e.g. from the government or from scientists.

Icon mit 5 Personen. Ein Mann steht im Vordergrund und ist farbig dargestellt. Über dem Mann ist ein rotes Warnschild. Im Hintergrund sind vier Personen in hellblau.

The Corona crisis affects all people.

Therefore it is important that

everybody can understand all information.

Many people inform themselves on the Internet.

Unfortunately, not all information on the Internet 

is accessible to all people.

Icon Computerbildschirm mit geöffneter Webseite. Im Vordergrund eine Sprechblase mit einem Fragezeichen.

An example:

For people with learning difficulties  

many websites are difficult to understand.

There are many problems for them, such as:

  • There are difficult words in the text.
  • There is too much information on a website.
  • The text is too small.
Logo Leichte Sprache

Therefore, for people with learning disabilities, 

additional information is available in plain language.

There are flyers, videos and texts about Corona in plain language.

This is important because many questions can be answered this way, 

for example:

  • What is the Coronavirus?
  • How can you protect yourself from Corona?
  • When do I have to go to the doctor?
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It is good that the information is available in plain language.

But there are also some problems. 

For example, the information must first be translated into plain language.

That takes time.

Therefore, the brand new information does not exist in plain language yet.

And another problem is that people with learning disabilities cannot decide for themselves:

  • Which topics about Corona would I like to inform myself about?
  • Where would I like to get information?
  • How would I like to obtain further information?

Easy Reading can help with these problems!

Easy Reading Programm

Easy Reading consists of many different tools.

The tools work on any website.

For example, you can use Easy Reading on a daily news website.

Here are a few examples of how Easy Reading can help to better understand news about Corona:

  • Read out the text
  • Plain language translations
  • Explanations of difficult words
  • Pictures or symbols for difficult words
  • Changing the appearance of web pages

This allows people with learning difficulties to make their own decisions, where, when and how they inform themselves about Corona.

  • They don’t have to wait for translations into plain language.
  • They do not need help from other people.
  • They can also read and understand the brand new information immediately. 

This also supports other people who cannot read well or come from a foreign country. 

Icon Computerbildschirm mit geöffneter Webseite. Auf der Webseite ist das Easy Reading Programm geöffnet.

The Easy Reading Team is working hard 

to get the Easy Reading program up and running quickly.

Here, on the Easy Reading website you can find out 

when the program is ready.

The Easy Reading program is free of charge for everyone.

Easy Reading makes it easier for people with learning disabilities 

and everyone else 

to understand the information on the Internet. 

The Times in Plain English website provides news in plain language. 

There you can also find information about Corona. 

You can access the website here: 

https://www.thetimesinplainenglish.com

The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) has compiled 

frequently used words about the coronavirus 

with explanations in plain English. 

Your hear many of these words everyday

on the news, radio, TV and online. 

The words are listed from A-Z.

You can download the dictionary here: 

COVID-19-words-explained-in-plain-English-from-NALA (pdf)

On the BBC website you can find out what happens when you have Corona. 

And how to protect yourself against it. 

You can access the website here: 

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51048366

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