Plain Language
From the Editors
This issue makes a strong case that plain language is more than a writing style or accessibility tool. It is an important part of belonging and participating in the community.
Plain language is a knowledge translation strategy. It helps move complex research, policy, and technical information into the hands of people who can act on it. It connects important research with real-world use.
All users benefit from instructions that are easier to follow and articles that get to the point faster. This makes plain language an important form of universal design.
Several authors in our issue note that when information is written in ways people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (IDD) can’t understand, they are excluded from decisions about their health, education, and employment. This is disability injustice.
We need leaders who prioritize and model plain language. They must address challenges and opportunities, including artificial intelligence. Plain language needs to move beyond making static documents that follow strict rules. It must adapt information to work for each person.
This issue also highlights the work of several self-advocates who co-create plain language. Their work, and the work of other self-advocates around the world, makes plain language more effective and improves lives. We thank them for this work.
For this issue, Impact invited members of the Self-Advocate Advisory Committee at the Institute on Community Integration to discuss and help convey the importance of plain language. Part of the committee’s role involves reviewing research study questions and other materials to test whether people with intellectual disability may have difficulty understanding the material or find it offensive. Pictures from this plain-language session are used with several of the overview articles in this issue.
Our thanks to committee members Jocelyn Brown, Thomas Robinson, and Heidi Myhre, along with Katrina Simons, who serves as a liaison between ICI and the committee.