Justice system failing people with learning difficulties, a report suggests

The Prison Reform Trust has found that the justice system is failing people with learning difficulties from point of arrest to release from prision.

They want the government to do more by showing that they are committed to the Disability Discrimination Act and reduce the chances of any miscarriages of justice.

The report found:
- Half of those with learning disabilities said they did not know what would happen to them once they had been charged
- More than a fifth did not understand what was going on
- Most said the use of simpler language would have helped them

One way of addressing this issue is to provide documents in Easyread format - a combination of plain English and clipart pictures (some specially commissioned). This format is most commonly used by people with a learning disability, however it is also useful for people such as the elderly or speakers of foreign languages - as most documents contain some words and phrases that can be difficult to understand.

TransMedia Link can translate your document into Easyread within your timescale and budget. Contact us today to find out more.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7736141.stm

User guides for the visually impaired? will a photocopy do?

Recently we contacted several major electrical manufacturers to see if their user guides and manuals were available in alternative formats for the visually impaired. The responses were alarming.

"The only alternative is for us to print off a copy of a manual and enlarge it on a photo-copier. We do not provide any other alternatives such as audio or braille."

"Please contact our spares department, I can confirm they also supply user manuals, but whether they are in Braille or not I am un-sure of. Sorry"

It is hard to believe that these formats are not, for want of a better word, more 'accessible' to the visually impaired. You would have thought they would produce these formats for the customer service value alone.

At TransMedia Link we are experts at transcribing manuals, user guides and instructions into audio, Braille and large print formats. Once mastered the guides are held in our transcription library in readiness for call off. Braille, audio and large print copies can be dispatched on the same day as they are ordered to ensure the end user has information as soon as possible.

If you would like more information contact one of our account managers today to see how we can help you. Samples are available on request.
www.transmedialink.co.uk