In the heart of every care home lies a fundamental mission: to provide compassionate, person-centred care. This commitment is not only ethical, but it's also a cornerstone of regulatory compliance, particularly with bodies such as the UK's Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Even if you understand the need to make information more accessible by transforming complex information into clear, simple language with pictures in documents and signs, it turns out that there are people out there who need even more help.

When you think about accessibility, what comes to mind? For many, it's about ramps, braille, or perhaps specific software for disabled people. But what if we told you that the real problem often isn't the individual, but the way society is designed? This is the core of the Social Model of Disability.

In today's relentlessly competitive market, every business is looking for an edge. We all pour resources into marketing, lead generation, and sales funnels, all aiming to expand our reach and boost revenue.

Your clients—especially large firms and institutions—are increasingly expected to meet high standards of accessibility and inclusion.

At IC Works, we’ve always designed Easy Read for people with cognitive and language processing challenges. Recently, we’ve noticed something interesting: more people than ever are finding Easy Read helpful—people who may not have learning disabilities, may not use assistive services, and may never have used Easy Read before.

At IC Works, we work with organisations that care about accessibility. More often than not, those organisations have already made real efforts — step-free entrances, ramps, handrails, accessible toilets, and clear routes through public spaces. The physical side of accessibility is on the agenda. And rightly so.

At IC Works, we specialise in turning complex documents into Easy Read versions. The Easy Read documents are designed to be clear, structured, and accessible for people with learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, or lower literacy levels.

Most of us don’t think twice about reading. We skim news articles, check emails, and follow instructions without struggling.

But for millions of people, reading is exhausting, frustrating, or downright impossible.

Not too long ago, the idea of universal accessibility—where information is truly available to everyone, regardless of ability—felt like a distant dream.

For much of history, public information displays were simply inaccessible to the deaf or blind, and even dedicated accessibility solutions—like braille, easy read formats, and audio recordings—only addressed specific needs in isolation.

At IC Works, we know that Easy Read documents should be clear, accessible, and respectful. But too often, Easy Read materials rely on cartoonish imagery and child-like design choices—a style that many assume is necessary but can actually feel patronising to the adults who rely on these documents.

Moving into the shorter months we thought we'd recap on some Easy Read escapades over the last few months in our autumn 2013 update.

We were recently asked by Centro, the West Midlands public transport provider, to produce a print-ready Easy Read application form for their Disability Pass.

Working with Jayne Carter and her daughter Nikki. we produced an Easy Read version of several tender documents.

I was interested to see that United Response launched an Easy Read 'newspaper', "Easy News" with the support of the National Lottery at the House of Commons on Wednesday 24 January 2013.