Creating Accessible Formats

Providing text in an accessible, electronic format can be the answer for many people with dyslexia or other reading impairments. So what tools are available for creating accessible formats and what are the difficulties in doing so?

Accessible Formats

For those who find it difficult to read because of a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or visual impairment, converting printed text into an accessible, electronic format can provide the answer. However the process of scanning in documents is time consuming and expensive and can lead to many errors in the text. Once an electronic version is produced it is important it is tagged correctly to produce indexes and table of contents to make it easy to navigate. For many years the Digital Accessible Information System Consortium (or DAISY) has been working towards developing a file format specifically for creating accessible books for reading impaired users. A DAISY file can contain a synchronised audio recording of the text or text to speech and is navigable via bookmarks or chapter structure. In fact DAISY books have been designed to give the reader as much flexibility as reading a book.

In the past producing a DAISY format document has been a time consuming process, requiring specialist knowledge. However the release of Dolphin Producer has made creating DAISY files a quick and easy process so that anyone can do it. From a simple toolbar in Microsoft Word it is possible to producer an integrated text and audio book with indexing points. Dolphin Producer makes it possible for any organisation, businesses and individuals to create DAISY documents that are accessible to everyone.

Legal Obstacles

Although the technology is now available to make producing accessible formats viable, there are still legal obstacles to overcome. Since the passing of the Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002, visually impaired people have the right to have copyright texts converted so that they can read them as comfortably as possible, without needing to get permission from the publisher. However, dyslexic people were not included in the legislation and do not enjoy the same rights. We have campaigned hard with the British Dyslexia Association and RNIB through the Right to Read Campaign (R2R) to get this anomaly rectified. In the meantime it is possible to produce electronic versions of a small proportion of a text (under the Copyright Law covering photocopying). For more details have a look at our article on Dyslexia and Copyright and Personal Accessible Text Conversion Guide.

Whilst the law still needs changing, a short term fix is happening as the Copyright Licensing Agency is changing the terms of its licences so that they cover all relevant disabilities. Most organisations making alternative format copies are under a CLA licence.