Intellectual disability involves a series of limitations in the skills that the person learns to function in his daily life. This intellectual disability is expressed when the person developes in his environment, that is why the disability depends both on the person himself and on the barriers and obstacles around him. This project has created an easier and more accessible environment in the field of information and communication. Not everyone has it just as easy to read, analyze and understand. Newspapers, news, magazines, etc. are hardly accessible for people with intellectual disabilities due to aspects such as terminology, abstraction and the complexity of concepts in articles and written news. This aggravates an often existing situation of isolation and ignorance of the world around them. This project has encouraged the interest of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in journalism and reading the media and communication; through the creation of a methodology supported by an ICT tool for the adaptation and reading of newspaper articles, magazines and other digital information for easy reading. The adoption of this methodology can nourish the cultural baggage of people with disabilities, in addition to being a socially inclusive activity; since cognitive accessibility represents a window of opportunity and freedom for this group. Overall objective: The general objective has been to guarantee the right to be informed, creating for this an innovative co-working methodology, supported by the use of ICT, and aimed at adapting current news to Easy Reading. Specific objectives: - The use of the easy reading system has been promoted through the adaptation of written news to facilitate its understanding by people with intellectual disabilities. - People with ID has been empowered through media literacy and learning techniques to adapt texts to easy reading, so that they are able to contrast information, obtain it from reliable sources and recognize 'fake news' and help other people with reading comprehension difficulties. - Within this project workshops have been created to adapt news to Easy Reading (EASYNEWS methodology) in residences of people with intellectual disabilities and other organizations. - A digital portal of news in easy reading has been created to make reading accessible to people with intellectual disabilities. This objectives have been reached thanks to the creation of the following tangible results: * Manual of Accessible Media Literacy and Adaptation of Texts to Easy Reading accessible to people with Intellectual Disabilities. * Development of the methodology and the EASYNEWS Digital Portal for the creation of workshops to adapt news to Easy Reading, based on the use of ICT. This Portal is accessible both through the web browser and with an App for Android. * Guide for parents of children and youth with disabilities in promoting reading habits. These developments can be accessed through the website: https://easynewserasmusproject.es/. The work methodology to achieve these O1, O2 and O3 have been based on the active participation of the beneficiaries themselves. ID people have participated in the creation of the methodology and the Digital Portal through co-creation sessions. The beneficiaries have been part in the definition of the platform and its characteristics. That has allowed them to stay informed through the written press. More than 40 people with ID have directly participated in this project. These people have contributed with their ideas, their needs, and made decisions jointly with the project technicians regarding the design of the methodology and the Digital Portal. A Learning Activity was also conducted, in which a total of 18 beneficiaries (both physically and online) learnt how to implement EASYNEWS, carry out practical activities and when they returned back to their countries to implement EASYNEWS in their centers. The results of the application of EASYNEWS represents a great improvement in the abilities of people with ID and in their quality of life: - Improvement in reading and writing. - Greater interest in reading. - Knowledge in the adaptation of texts to Easy Reading - Greater interest in the world around them. - Greater media education - Improvement in social integration. - Awareness of intellectual disability. The impact on people with ID is directed to the quality of life of people. The needs and supports of people with ID regarding access to information has been made possible, while at the same time their right to be informed has been expanded. In this way, they can now also promote their social inclusion, being able to perform specific and valued roles, and understanding the context for making decisions, thus becoming full citizens.
The main objective of the project is to guarantee the right to be informed to all people, creating for this purpose an innovative methodology of co-working supported by the use of new technologies that is intended for the adaptation of current news to Easy Reading. In this way we will be able to encourage the habit of reading in people with disabilities, promote the use of the easy reading system through the adaptation of written news to facilitate their understanding, empower people with intellectual disabilities to be able to contrast information and thus recognize those false news, create news adaptation workshops that promote socialization and create a digital portal for free access so that all people can have at their disposal the adapted news and request them.
Intellectual disability accounts for 19% of all disabilities, despite the different conceptualizations that have been made throughout history, it has not been as visible as physical disability, so the environment is not adapted to intellectual diversity. This implies a series of limitations in the abilities of people to develop their autonomy in daily life. For all these reasons it was decided to create this project, to achieve an easier and more accessible environment in the field of information and communication because not all people have the same ability to read, analyze and understand. People with intellectual disabilities have a handicap that hinders the process of reading with autonomy and self-sufficiency sometimes causing situations of isolation and ignorance of the world around them. Through this project we intend to encourage the interest of people with disabilities in journalism and reading the media and communication through the ICT tool, which facilitates the adaptation and reading of these articles and thus be able to break the barriers faced by people with intellectual disabilities.