Dyslexia Scotland – Empowering people with dyslexia to reach their full potential Dyslexia Scotland is a national charity whose aim is to help children and adults with dyslexia reach their full potential. 1 in 10 people in Scotland is dyslexic. Most assume that dyslexia is just about reading, writing and spelling but it can also affect things such as organisation, following instructions and short term memory difficulties. As well as the difficulties dyslexia can present, we also focus on the positives of dyslexia such as creativity, out of the box thinking and strong problem solving skills. We do this through
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Sense Scotland – Communication Approaches and Systems Recently at Sense Scotland, we have been updating information on the communication approaches and systems that we regularly use. This has reminded us of two main ideas: 1) the human need to connect with others to share stories, information and our life experiences is incredibly powerful; and 2) humans are incredibly diverse in their efforts to make contact with other people. On a day-to-day basis, in Sense Scotland we use more than 25 different communication systems.  Amongst this, there are at least 10 different signed communication and language approaches, including British Sign Language
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Deaf women in prison and should they be there? Mandy Reid from deafscotland reflects on the support that is available for deaf women in prison. In May 2008, the Scottish Council on Deafness (SCoD) (deafscotland is the trading name on SCoD) published a research report, “Making the Case for Specialist Mental Health Services for Deaf People in Scotland: with recommendations for action.” This report laid out the reasons why Public Petition PE808 was lodged with the Scottish Parliament and why the issues raised in January 2005 were still the same, if not more serious in 2008. The report did not
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Inclusive Communication Survey Inclusive communication is an approach to communication which enables as many people as possible to be included. It allows the largest number of people in the population to take part in communication with services. It does this by allowing and enabling individuals to use whatever ways of understanding and expressing themselves which they find easiest. Inclusive communication is relevant to all forms of communication: Printed information, including leaflets, posters, letters and appointment cards Online materials such as information websites and online contact forms Telephone helplines and telephone interviews And Face to face interactions such as advice sessions,
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Calls for New Laws on Braille Labelling This National Braille Week (11 – 17 October 2021), Disability Equality Scotland partnered with Sight Scotland to call for action from government and retailers to promote more availability of braille labelling on retail goods. We have urged the Scottish Government to consider introducing new requirements on retailers to provide braille labelling for a greater range of goods.  Currently braille labelling is only required for https://www.liobesitysurgery.com/propecia-finasteride/ medicines, leaving braille users at a disadvantage to sighted shoppers in identifying other goods they wish to purchase and use. Responsibility for labelling legislation is moving to the
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2021 Scottish Parliament Election: Accessible Formats Manifesto Tracker In 2015, the main political parties in Scotland signed up to the One in Five Charter, which asks political parties, local government and other organisations to make politics more inclusive and accessible to disabled people. The One in Five Campaign asked simply that political participation and representation reflects our society, where one in five people self-identify as having a disability or long term health condition. At that time, Jamie Szymkowiak, One in Five’s founder said that it was important to disabled people that political meetings to be held in accessible venues, and
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Face covering exemption cards launched The Scottish Government has produced a face covering exemption card, to support those who are unable to wear one to feel more confident and safe when accessing public spaces and using public services. Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley Anne Somerville said: “Everyone who can do so is legally obliged to wear a face covering where it is mandated by law. But there are some people who cannot, due to health conditions, disabilities or other special circumstances where a face covering may cause difficulty or distress. “Discrimination against people in this situation
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 Sensory Guidance for COVID-19 Lockdown New cross-sector guidance to support people living with sensory loss during the COVID-19 lockdown has been published. The ALLIANCE is working closely with Scottish Government and partner organisations from across the Third Sector to produce guidance and information to support people living with sensory loss and their communication partners as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions vary across the country. Measures to reduce spread of the infection present challenges which may affect groups of people in different ways, including people’s ability to communicate, gather information and move around their environment safely. This guidance outlines key advice on how
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V&A Dundee – Upcoming Accessible Events V&A Dundee reopened on 27 August 2020 and while our previous programme of accessible tours and events has had to be put on hold until current restrictions allow, we are still really keen to make our content as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. Mary Quant– our latest major exhibition – is proving a huge hit and we hope that as many people as possible can visit it before it closes on the 17 January 2021. A number of our public events linked to this exhibition are to be broadcast digitally
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