COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES TO ASSIST PEOPLE WITH VISION IMPAIRMENTS. It is important to note that the Blind Citizens Australia prefer the term vision impaired, rather than visual impaired. This is because it implies it is the vision that is a problem. If the term visual impairment is used it could imply that there is something which other people can see wrong with the person, ie something disfiguring. When communicating with people who have vision impairments it is best to provide as many forms of alternate media as possible. There have been guidelines written about presenting large print, audio material and web site pages. SPOKEN COMMUNICATION: It is important to gain the attention of a person with a vision impairment prior to commencing conversation. Simple things like addressing him/her by name, and stating where you are in relation to him/her is helpful. Ensure that when you finish the conversation, you verbally indicate that you are leaving the presence of the person with a vision impairment. It is also helpful to keep them informed about who else is in the room in case they would like to speak with someone in particular. If a person with a vision impairment is new to a place, it is important that you take some time to give them some information about the area they are in. Such orientation allows for the person to independently negotiate the environment. Verbal directions to a person with a vision impairment may not be useful if they are alone. It may be

66

best to accompany the person to their destination if they are alone. Rather than make assumptions about how a person with a vision impairment likes to have information presented, or likes to be provided with directions, it is courteous to ask. It will also lead to using the most effective solution. LARGE PRINT: The following guidelines are intended to help create large print material that is easily read by people with vision impairments. PAPER: It is best to use paper that has a matt finish, because glossy finish paper tends to reflect the light making it difficult to read. CONTRAST: Colours of high contrast are easier to read than colours of low contrast. The recommended colours are black and white, or blue and yellow. Black print on a white background is universally accepted. There is evidence that many older readers or partially sighted readers find light (white or light yellow) letters on a dark (black background) more readable than dark letters on a light background. It would be beneficial to ask the people who are receiving your written material which format is preferred, then printing your material according to the need identified. If the material were printed using both methods, it is more likely that a wider reading audience will be reached.

67

For signage, white lettering on a black background is the optimum readability combination. FONT SIZE: 12 to 18 point font should be used. It is important to note that 16 point font is should be regarded as the minimum size for large print. The size font of this document is 16 point. FONT TYPE: Sans serif fonts are the best type to use. Sans serif means without feet. Examples of sans serif fonts are Arial, Futura, Helvetica and Univers. The font type of this document is Arial. SPACING BETWEEN LINES OF TEXT: Spacing between lines of text should be 25-30% of point size. Therefore, if spacing is set at 1.5 lines, rather than 1 line apart it is easier to read. The spacing used here is one line. MARGINS: If people with vision impairment use magnifying glasses or sheets, extra margin space should be provided. If the margin space is large it allows for the print to be photocopied flat more easily and therefore the copy can be read more easily. Extra margin space also allows for the page or book to be held without obscuring the print. ALIGNMENT: Text should be aligned to the left hand margin. This makes it easier to scan the document, as it makes it easier to find the edge of the next line.

68

CASE: To emphasize text it is best to use another font or bold it. Use capitals for the headings of text rather than throughout the text. A large amount of capital letters in the body of a text can be difficult to read. Underlining text and italics make the text appear “too busy” and therefore hard to read, it is best to avoid emphasizing text in these manners. OVERHEAD PROJECTOR SHEETS: When writing an overhead projector sheet, remember that people who are sitting a long way from the projector need to see the information on the screen. There should be as little writing on the screen as possible and the writing should be in a contrasting colour to the background of the screen or the background of the overhead sheet. For example on a white screen it is best to use black writing, or even blue writing. (You may have experienced the difficulty of reading red writing on an overhead projector screen.) If the background of the sheet is dark blue then yellow writing may be better. Make sure that the font size and style and spacing is appropriate. Arial or Arial Narrow are good fonts and sizes of 28 to 40 are easy to see on an overhead projector screen. Ensure that the screen is placed in a space where people can see the screen from where they are sitting or standing. Remember not all people can stand, so when information is read from an overhead, for example a hymn, if the majority of people are standing it may be necessary to provide the people who can not stand a handout of the hymn to ensure that they can be included. Make sure that the lighting is dim enough for the writing to be easily read from the screen.

69

Speakers may need to be reminded to read out the content of overheads for those who are unable to see them. WEB-SITE and COMPUTER: www.w3.org/WAI is a website that outlines how to make a web site more visible for people with vision impairments. There are no standard guidelines on creating accessible web sites. Bobby reviews and approves websites for accessibility to people with a range of disabilities, including vision impairment. It is a free web based tool and can accessed by: Http://cast.org/Bobby e-mail: [email protected]

Text can be presented in more than print. It can be presented through Braille, synthesized speech or visually displayed text. Specialized computers can automatically convert text into Braille or synthesized speech. It is helpful to display more than one way of presenting information. For example if the message is being conveyed in picture form it is best to have a text or sound based description as well. A picture alone is not useful to someone with a vision impairment. A picture on the other hand, may be useful for someone who has a cognitive impairment or someone for whom the text is written in their second (less familiar) language. If colour is used to convey information, as with printed material, it is best to use colours of high contrast. Old computers may not be able to show colours. Some vision deficits make it difficult to discern different colours. It is therefore best not to rely solely on the use of colour pictures. A text message accompanying information in colour, or providing the information in black and white is useful. 70

On a web page, it is helpful to provide contextual information about the links, and the relationships between the elements. This makes navigating through the website easier. This is particularly relevant for a person with a vision impairment and is also relevant for a person with a cognitive disability, or for whom the language of the site is not their native language. The world wide web consortium make the following suggestions to follow when writing for a website: • Make headings and link descriptions clear and accurate. • Avoid using jargon and unfamiliar headings. • State the topic or the paragraph at the beginning of the sentence. • Limit each paragraph to one main idea. Another point is: Use acronyms consistently throughout the text and only to use them if the acronym has been explained fully before it is used. REFERENCES: This information is adapted from the following sources: Arditi, A. 1887. The Lighthouse Inc. Print Guidelines Brochure. Lighthouse Inc. New York. Blind Citizens Australia. 2000. Large Print guidelines. Prahran, Victoria.

71

North Sydney Area Health Service, 1997. Handbook to Assist People Working in the Northern Sydney Area Health Service. 1997. Tips for Communicating with People Who Have A Vision Impairment. North Sydney Area Health Service. Sydney. Round Table. 1996. Guidelines for the Production of Computer Generated Large Print. Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities. Melbourne. Royal Blind Society web site: http://www.rbs.org.au/home/accessibility/html World wide web consortium web site: http://www.org.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT

72