News

We’ve gone through all the feedback we received since announcing the closure of the CHANGE Easy Read service last week, and have created a list of questions and answers which we hope will give all our current and former clients, partners and friends the information they need.

This page will be regularly updated as more detail becomes available and more questions are received. Please send any further questions to CHANGE@advonet.org.uk

We are deeply sorry to announce that Advonet will close CHANGE’s Easy Read services at the end of next month. We want to thank all our current and former project partners, commissions clients, image bank and shop customers, colleagues and volunteers for working with CHANGE.

CHANGE is hugely proud that for almost 30 years we have worked with so many people and organisations to create genuinely accessible information, empowering adults with learning disabilities to access their rights and live better lives. Advonet remains committed to our core principles, including co-delivery, and will continue this through its Asking You service.

The CHANGE illustrator team have created a set of portraits celebrating inspiring figures. In a series of articles, we explain how these inspiring figures connect to the work we do across the many services that Advonet provides, including CHANGE’s Easy Read expertise. Our staff talk about what these people mean to them in their lives and their work.  

For over 25 years, CHANGE has created accessible information from the same starting point: how can we ensure the reader understands the message with clarity, confidence, and dignity? This principle is why we are committed to using bespoke, in-house illustrations rather than stock photography. While photos can be quicker to source, they often introduce barriers to understanding. Our illustrations, designed with clear purpose to exclusively convey a clear point, are central to our approach and have many advantages for our clients and their audiences.

CHANGE's Words to Pictures team have been interviewing the people who commission Easy Read to better understand why they do it and what it means to their organisations to be inclusive and accessible.

When Warwick University undertook research on the ReSPECT process they partnered with CHANGE to ensure their work was genuinely inclusive and its findings were communicated accessibly.

In the first of a series of interviews by CHANGE’s Words to Pictures team, Jamie Marshall spoke to Anne-Marie Slowther from Warwick University.

Breast Cancer Now approached CHANGE to translate their service pledge pack documents to ensure that the information that they were distributing was truly accessible.

In the second in the interview series by CHANGE’s Words to Pictures team, Jamie Marshall spoke to Anna Preciado, service pledge senior officer, Breast Cancer now, who explained their policies on inclusivity and the changes that they are making to become more accessible.

We believe that the Sunflower Movement is a crucial step towards creating a more inclusive society. By raising awareness and fostering understanding, the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower charity helps break down barriers and build a community where everyone feels supported. Our new series celebrates the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Movement, featuring personal stories and CHANGE's commitment to visible inclusivity.

In the first of two personal accounts from wearers, Cheryl, a member of the CHANGE team, shares her personal journey with Autism and the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower since 2017.

Read how Heather was able to navigate the airport with confidence thanks to her Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard, in the second of our personal accounts from wearers.

I am Autistic, I have dyslexia and visual processing disorder. This world is hard for someone like me to navigate, this world is made for neurotypical people,

Easy read is very important for someone like me, it make complicated information easier to understand, it uses simple pictures and words., it means the world is accessible to me in a way I need it to be.

Jargon words are words that professionals often use to communicate with each other. The meaning of these words might be obvious to the people working in the same profession, but to others, they might be hard to understand.

Read our three tips to make your information more accessible.

At CHANGE, we believe in the power of co-production. Our basic ethos hinges on the concept of ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ and this was evident in the OutSpoken project. This project focused on improving access to services and inclusion in community for people who are LGBTQI+ and have autism and/or a learning disability.  Our OutSpoken project thrived on our Steering Group comprised solely of experts by experience. 

To celebrate Valentine’s Day we had a chat with one of these members and this is what they had to say ....

We live in a very digital world accessing more information than ever before. It’s equally important to ensure that everyone has access to it.

Accessible information is information that people can understand. It means different things to different people. 

Experts by experience are people who have personal knowledge and experience of services. Experts by experience can commonly be utilised by the NHS, the Third Sector and local and national government. 

Experts by experience bring their unique experience, history, knowledge and perspective to professionals who are making decisions that will affect those people; they ensure that when decisions are made they are made with the needs of the individuals in mind, and that those decisions are relevant, person centered and culturally sensitive.  

The finance sector faces a critical challenge: ensuring clear communication for every customer. This is a core expectation of the FCA Consumer Duty, which demands that firms deliver good outcomes for all retail customers. But for a very large number of customers, the way financial information is presented is a very significant barrier