How Plain Language Writing Can Help Your Child Be an Advocate

When we talk about accessibility, it’s critical to talk just as much about building equal access for people with cognitive disabilities as we talk about building access for people who use wheelchairs, or for those who are Deaf or blind. But as Zoe Gross of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), freelance journalist Sara Luterman, and reporter Andrew Pulrang explain in this Forbes article, “making information accessible to people with cognitive disabilities . . . is an area of accessibility that is surprisingly ignored.” In an interview with Wall Street Journal, Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc, referred to cognitive disability as “the final frontier of accessibility.” One of the best ways to ensure that information and instructions are available to those who may have intellectual, learning, or developmental disabilities is to use Plain Language writing in documents and literature.

The federal government passed the Plain Writing Act of 2010 to require that government agencies provide paperwork and documentation in “clear, concise, well-organized” language. The act aims to make government documents more comprehensible for any person reading them, but the use of Plain Language in communications is especially important for people with intellectual disabilities. As The Center for Plain Language explains, “Wording, structure, and design are so clear [in Plain Language] that the intended readers can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information.” That means greater access to written information about healthcare, civil rights, personal finances, and job opportunities — all things that can help your child become the best advocate they can be.

Luterman emphasizes that there is no “perfect” way to write in Plain Language: “I tend to describe my Plain Language work as more accessible rather than accessible period — it still might not work for some people.” Different intellectual disabilities affect communication and reading comprehension differently, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach. In WSJ’s reporting on business websites aiming to adapt Plain Language usage, many developers noted the difficulty of trying to create the most useful translation for the most readers.

That being said, there are certain recommendations that should always be incorporated. You can see the full list of guidelines from The Center for Plain Language here; they include:

• Use strong verbs in the active voice (For example, in the Forbes article, Pulrang says to write, “Everyone should wear a mask” instead of “Masks should be worn by everyone.”)

• Use words the audience knows (Gross suggests using readability score tools geared toward specific grade levels to make sure the vocabulary is accessible — we’ll share some of these tools in a later section!)

• Include the details that will help the reader complete the task

• Leave out details that don’t help or may distract readers, even if they are interesting (such as metaphors, similes, or other literary devices)

• Use headers and subheaders to organize the information

It’s also important to note that Plain Language does not mean shorter; it means that ideas are described more thoroughly. Sometimes, Plain Language texts can actually be longer. As Pulrang says, "Plain Language isn’t about reducing the number of facts and ideas expressed, but rather explaining them in ways more people can readily understand."

Gross says ASAN shares different versions of their Policy Advocacy Toolkits with different readability scores (4th–5th grade and 2nd–3rd grade reading levels) to ensure that language is accessible for as many readers as possible.

By sharing documents in Plain Language, ASAN and other organizations provide information so that people with autism, intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, and those whose learning disabilities affect their reading comprehension can advocate for their own civil rights, healthcare access, and more.

Understanding the jargon and language used in your child’s IEP helps you to be a better advocate for your child. Likewise, when your child better understands information presented about their IEP, curriculum, and any other matter, then your child can be a better advocate for themselves. When your child can learn to identify their lack of understanding and request content in Plain Language, they begin to exhibit true advocacy skills that have the potential to benefit them on an ongoing basis.

Additionally, when information is provided in Plain Language, it allows individuals to engage in spaces that were previously inaccessible to them, such as a general education classroom. A 9th grade history lesson presented using language at the 9th grade reading level may sound different when presented in Plain Language at the 3rd grade reading level, but the core concepts and scope of the lesson often remain the same. This example can help IEP teams to understand that providing students with accommodations or modifications in Plain Language can be a huge benefit to students.

Civil rights information written in Plain Language

• From ASAN: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act
• From The Arc of NoVa: The ADA: A Recap in Plain Language (video)
• From The Arc CA: Arc Plain Language Guides for Voters with Disabilities
• From ASAN: What is Police Violence?: A plain language booklet about anti-Black racism, police violence, and what you can do to stop it
• From ASAN: Real Work For Real Pay: A Self-Advocate's Guide to Employment Policy

Healthcare information written in Plain Language

• From ASAN: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Medicaid
• From A4A Ontario: A Plain Language Guide About Covid-19
• From Green Mountain Self Advocates: Plain Language Information on Coronavirus
• From ASAN: Affordable Care Act Toolkit for Self-Advocates
• From ASAN: Toolkit for Advocates on Health Care and the Transition to Adulthood

You can find more Plain Language advocacy guides here.

If you want to encourage your child’s IEP team, teacher, or instructor to incorporate more Plain Language writing into your child’s assignments and curriculum (or if you want to learn more about writing this way yourself), Gross and Luterman suggest checking out and sharing these online tools:

• Readability Formulas and Grammarly Readability Scores: These are online resources to evaluate which grade level your text is optimized for.

• Up Goer 5: This is an online tool that will flag any words that are “not among the 10,000 most commonly used English words” so that they can be replaced with a more familiar term.

• While Gross and Luterman did not recommend this specific site, this guide to Plain Language writing from the NYC Department of Public Education is geared toward 6th–9th grade readability, and may also be helpful.

• In this WSJ report, you can learn about companies developing software to translate job information into Plain Language, and news organizations working on Plain Language article translations.