Why accessible information is important to disability pride

Meg
Jul 3
2 min read

Features the text 'Disability Pride Month' alongside the disability pride flag which is red, yellow, white, blue and green stripes with a grey background.

In this blog post, we will focus on the link between disability pride and accessible information. Every July, Disability Pride Month celebrates the history and achievements of disabled people, while also challenging the different types of ableism that disabled people face.

Like most pride movements, an important part of Disability Pride Month is empowerment - because being proud, confident and heard is very difficult if you are not empowered. A key aspect of empowerment is equal access, which means making sure disabled people can access all the same things as non-disabled people can, including information.

What is empowerment?

Illustration of a young black woman flexing her muscles, showing she is strong and empowered.

Empowerment is about having the freedom and power to control what happens to you and make decisions for yourself. It is about being able to live the life you want to live and have your rights respected wherever you go. Accessible information like Easy Read resources can help disabled people feel empowered.

When a disabled person is empowered, they are:

Heard, respected and believed by the people, organisations and services around them.
Able to make their own decisions, or make their decisions with the help of someone they choose.
Able to access the services they need without shame.
Able to live the life they want and need.
Confident and proud of who they are.

Illustration of a young asian man sat in his wheelchair looking pensive and sad.

When a disabled person is not empowered, it can look like:

The person being spoken about, instead of spoken to.
Decisions being made for them without being included in the decision-making process.
Being excluded from opportunities because of inaccessible physical spaces, online spaces and information.
Being denied the tools or support they need to be able to live their life.

If a disabled person is not empowered, this can lead to many negatives, such as internalised ableism, loneliness and a lower quality of life.

Empowerment and accessible information

Illustration of a young woman showing an iPad screen with the information symbol on it.

Accessible information is not just a tool for communication; it is also a way of empowering disabled people. When disabled people are able to access information and tools, they can achieve things that will make them feel empowered. For example:

A disabled person could use an Easy Read information booklet about common illnesses to decide whether they would like to get a flu vaccination.
A disabled person could fill in an Easy Read version of a council survey to have a say in what happens to their local park.
A disabled person could use a large print version of a job application form to have the same chance at getting a job as a non-disabled person.

Illustration of an Easy Read document. There is a young man with a learning disability next to it with his thumbs up.

As an organisation, you can help to empower disabled people by committing to accessibility and providing your information in accessible formats. This is a great way of communicating to your disabled service users, customers and employees: your presence matters, your voice matters.

Illustration of a senior woman on at her desk looking at her laptop.

To learn more about providing accessible versions of your information, you can take a look at our website: https://www.easy-read-online.co.uk/

Or if you want to read more about the disability and accessibility sector, you can read some of our other blog posts: https://www.easy-read-online.co.uk/blog