Writing Government Information for People with Cognitive Disabilities

No one likes unclear information about rules and laws - but for people with cognitive disabilities, badly written and formatted information is itself a barrier to accessibility. So, how do you write so that people with cognitive disabilities can read, understand, and use your content? In this presentation, we will look at how simply written and properly formatted content can help improve accessibility for everyone, including people with cognitive disabilities. We will also look at how challenges faced by people with cognitive disabilities in accessing information are caused by bad writing or formatting. Finally, there will be examples of good and bad information about regulations.

Presenter:

Jonathan Katz (@jonathanpkatz) is a Content Writer at the New York City Department of Small Business Services, where he writes about regulations and incentives for businesses and workers. He also has several years' experience as a writer in Jewish media, and has published work with the Jewish Daily Forward, New Voices Magazine, Roads and Kingdoms, AJAM Media Collective, Africa Is A Country, COMPAS, and Handwritten Magazine. He writes a food blog, Flavors of Diaspora.