Dementia can make many daily tasks difficult, if not impossible. One of those tasks is reading. My father was an avid reader throughout his life so as his dementia progressed, his one true hobby and passion in life was rudely stolen from him.
Reading skills are necessary to navigate daily life beyond reading for pleasure. Being able to interpret signs, recipes, instruction manuals, etc. all take various levels of reading comprehension. Is there a way to write that can make it easier for those with dementia to comprehend?
Innovations in Dementia has released new guidelines on accessible writing for people with dementia. It’s an insightful and useful manual offering real world examples and explaining the whys behind the recommendations. It’s written with a good dose of humor, which is hard to do with a style guide! Everything from font choice and size to page layout and navigation and word choice are covered in the manual.
Researchers found through surveys that many of the recommendations on how to make writing clearer for those with dementia were also useful for those without dementia. The guide points out some similarities in reading challenges for those with dementia and those with dyslexia. Many of us find ourselves increasingly distracted and overwhelmed by the information flooding our minds on a daily basis. If you are familiar with the concept of “smart brevity” that powers the concise writing style used by Axios, you may see some similarities with the clear and direct writing style recommended in the writing for those with dementia guide.
Recently I read a book, Writing for Busy Readers, that I found insightful in how we can all improve our written communication to express ourselves more clearly and be understood by others. From corporate boardrooms to schools, there are opportunities each day to express ourselves more effectively.
Communicating in a way that is more accessible to those with dementia could benefit us all.
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This is very interesting. It is a lot of information and I will have to spend quite a while going through it. I have also heard that being bi-lingual, seems to help people who battle with dementia or Alzheimer’s, because of the way that processing information in multiple languages affects the brain. Thank you Joy, and have a blessed week.
Thanks Pete for sharing. I’ve also heard a similar thing about the benefits of being bilingual.