Regional SEN Transition To Employment Project Newsletter
In this issue:
December 2011
Introduction Merry Christmas, some festive spirit in Caerphilly and your chance to have your say.
Merry Christmas!
Making Information Easy Some tips about how to write information in Easy Read. Some Thank You’s! A parent and young person take time to say thank you to the Real Opportunity hub teams that have helped them. ASD Aware New scheme launched to increase awareness of ASD Training and Events List of upcoming training and events.
Another month has gone by with lots going on in the disability field on a national level, and as ever within the project. The Caerphilly Hub Team has been getting in the festive spirit early at Trinity Fields School by supporting a Christmas Fayre. Children and young people had the opportunity to visit Santa and his Real Opportunities Christmas elves… but where was Dafydd?? In national news the Arts Council of Wales is currently consulting on their draft Strategic Equality Plan and is asking for your input to ensure the arts are treating everyone fairly. If you’d like to give your feedback and make sure the plan reflects your views please go to www. artswales.org. All information is available in easy read. The closing date for feedback is 20th January 2012.
Santa comes to Trinity Fields School
Disabled people and their organisations throughout the UK are also being asked to contribute directly to a new cross-government disability strategy. Discussions are focused on three key principles; realising aspirations, individual control and changing attitudes and behaviours. Responses to the discussion document will feed directly into the Government’s strategy, which will be published in spring next year. To contribute go to www.dwp.gov.uk and search for ‘fulfilling promises’, comments can be submitted until 9 March 2012. Funding has been made available to hold discussion events, where disabled people can discuss the consultation with representatives from the strategy team. For more information about this and anything mentioned here please get in touch. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Laura Davies Project Information Officer 1
Making Information
Easy
“
The more you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go” Dr Seuss, I can read with my eyes shut. It’s so important for us all to make sure that we’re getting our information across clearly and in ways that allow our young people to access it independently. Being able to read and understand what’s being read can really boost confidence and is an essential skill for independent living. Six out of ten people with a learning disability have a problem with seeing, and seven out of ten cannot read very well, on top of that, people with a learning disability may have poor literacy skills or difficulty concentrating. They may find it difficult to understand abstract concepts like emotions or time and can have difficulty remembering information or transferring information from one idea to the next. We can help overcome these barriers by following some simple easy read do’s and don’ts.
DO NOT use words or sayings with two different meanings or metaphors. For example ‘Keep your chin up’. DO use active and not passive sentences. Active sentences have a ‘doer’ – someone who is doing something in the sentence, passive sentences either have no ‘doer’ or the ‘doer’ comes at the end which is more confusing. For example; we will send you a letter not a letter will be sent. DO keep punctuation simple, use full stops and some commas no semicolons; colons: or hyphens-. DO NOT write in the third person. Use personal you language like I, We, You. For example can buy a drink at the bar not drinks are available at the bar. DO structure your sentences in order of fill the kettle with water. Then importance; switch the kettle on after switch it on not filling it with water. if it DO put ‘if’ or ‘because’ first. For example is going to rain, take an umbrella not take an umbrella if it is going to rain. DO make sure bullet points make sense on their own. DO use pictures to support text. Most people with learning disabilities say that they prefer real images rather than illustrations. Try to place images in the same place throughout the text for example, to the left of every sentence. DO NOT put writing over images or use images with too much detail. DO keep layout simple, use plain backgrounds and do not justify the text on the right hand side. Use headings and no more than two font types in one document. Use a minimum of point 14 size text and do not use block capitals. Use bold to highlight important words.
Before you start..
Prepare your information and think about your target group and who the information is aimed at. What do you want to say? What are the aims and what are the key points? To identify key points, write out your information, read and summarise each paragraph into one or two sentences. Make sure your information flows and is in a logical order; the shorter it is the better! Before moving on you could consult a focus group at this point.
The Do’s and Don’ts’
DO use easy words, buy instead of purchase; get better instead of recover. DO use the numerical form for numbers, 2 not two, however numbers as big as a million are better as words. DO use the 12 hour clock rather than the 24 hour clock and use ‘in the morning’ or ‘in the afternoon’ instead of am and pm. It is also useful to include pictures of clock faces with the numbers. 1 out of 10 DO simplify percentages, say instead of 10%. You can also use pictures to support this. DO simplify the idea of time and dates, you could ‘a very long time ago’ instead of ‘in use 1066’ DO NOT be afraid to explain things in two different ways, for example ‘the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066. This was a very long time ago’. DO write just one idea per sentence.
Don’t forget, you could always try Drama, Role Play, Workshops, Videos, Posters, CD’s or DVD’s to get your information across. 2
Some Thank You’s T
he Real Opportunities project has been making a very real positive impact for young people and their families throughout the counties it’s been working in. Here are some words of thanks from a parent in Torfaen and a young person in Bridgend who wanted to let everyone know how great their teams have been to them! In an e-mail to Helen Palmer the Team Leader at Torfaen, a mum of two boys recieving help from the Real Opportunities project wrote “My two sons Timothy and Andrew are both on the autistic
skills. Kristina also took Andrew to Tai Kwon Do classes at Pontypool Active Living Centre but gradually gave him more and more space to gain the confidence to go into the class on his own. He is still going and hoping to gain his first award very soon! In the New Year Andrew will be starting travel training. The team have been wonderful; they offer support and help to the young people and their parents. Timothy and Andrew have always been treated with kindness and respect, they have gained practical experience that will benefit them for a long time, the team have given them an opportunity to make a successful transition from school to college. What is apparent is how much they enjoy their work, there’s a lot of laughter and enthusiasm. Diolch, thank you from a very grateful family! Tomas Roberts, a young person from Bridgend sent the team at Heronsbridge School his own special thank you, shown below.
Timothy and Andrew camping in the Gower.
spectrum and have benefited greatly from working with the Torfaen Real Opportunities team. Timothy who is now in Derwen College in Oswestry was naturally very anxious about leaving home; as parents we took him on a number of visits to get him used to the new surroundings, but Suzanne from the team also took Tim to visit last July. They travelled up by train and Suzanne had made a booklet which included information for Tim on passing stations and landmarks. They took a short tour of the college and had lunch in the Orangery restaurant. When Tim arrived home he was feeling more confident and happier about college life! In the summer, both boys went on a very enjoyable camping trip to the Gower, they had lots of fun and much laughter even in the rain! Andrew didn’t stop talking about Helen’s hilarious attempt to leap across a sand dune! The trip initiated social and independence skills, they don’t mind washing up at home now! The boys have a booklet full of photos as a reminder of their experience but no photos of Helen’s ‘fall from grace’! Andrew took part in a twoday confidence building course before he started Pontypool College; again an ideal opportunity for him to engage in social 3
ASD Aware Scheme
Training AND
Make your team ASD Aware! In September this year the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) launched the ASD Aware scheme. The scheme has been funded by the Welsh Government as part of the ASD Strategic Action Plan for Wales.
To book onto any of the following training events or seminars or for more information contact the information and training team at realopportunities@ learningdisabiltiywales.org.uk for a booking form.
Launched
The aim of this innovative project is to increase the awareness of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) across all sectors in Wales. The scheme involves an online learning tool that helps the user to develop a basic understanding of ASD and the option for users to then complete an online questionnaire to test their knowledge. By recording the information of those who have successfully completed the questionnaire, the system will be able to give feedback on which businesses and agencies have a high proportion of ASD aware staff and the second stage of the project will be to award participating businesses with ASD Aware status. Councillor Meryl Gravell OBE (Carmarthenshire) WLGA Spokesperson for Social Care and Health, explained: “It is estimated that 1 in every 100 people have an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and people with ASD use all kinds of services and businesses in Wales. It is therefore vitally important that staff in these organisations are ASD aware.” Individuals can take part in the scheme by visiting www.ASDinfoWales.co.uk/ ASDaware. The website contains a short ASD Aware learning module. Users can then register to undertake a test questionnaire. If all questions are answered correctly a personalised certificate will be issued for download. Organisations or departments within organisations may also take part in the scheme. Details of how to become an ASD Aware organisation can be found at www.ASDinfoWales.co.uk/ organisations.
Events
Employment & Opportunities Network Date: 11th January 2012 Time: 10am – 1 pm Venue: Forge Fach CRC For: All Hubs & Contractors
Project Induction (RCT) Date: 16th January 2012 Time: 9:30am-12:30pm Venue: Pontypridd YMCA For: Anyone in RCT!
Day 3&4 of 5 Day PCP
Date: 18th&19th January 2012 Time: 18th - 9:30-4:00pm 19th - 10:00am-3:00pm (Bring YP) Venue: Manor Park Country House, Clydach For: All Hubs (who have attended previously)
1 Day Introduction to PCP
Date: 23rd January 2012 Time: 10am – 4 pm Venue: Pontypridd YMCA For: All who work with YP in Caerphilly/Torafen/ RCT
All Wales PCP Network
Date: 26th January 2012 Time: 10am – 3:15pm Venue: Rhayadar Leisure Centre Please Contact Inacia at LDW on 02920 752149
Inclusion Network
Dates: 17th February 2012 Time: 10am – 1pm Venue: Forge Fach CRC For: All Hubs & Contractors
1 Day Introduction to PCP
Date: 20th February 2012 Time: 10am – 1 pm Venue: Bethlehem Church Life Centre, Bridgend For: All who work with YP in Bridgend/Merthyr/NPT
Dates for Your Diary 2012:
27th Feb - Day 5 of 5 Day PCP 14th March - Planning for the Future Network 19th March - 1 Day Intro to PCP (Swans/Carms/ Pembs) To get your story in the newsletter, or for more information contact Laura on 01792 817224 or at laura.davies@learningdisabilitywales.org.uk 4