CDC’s Everyday Words from Idea to Reality
I assume all plain language experts who teach, edit, and review have confronted that exasperated sigh from a colleague: So you don’t like the word I’m using. What do you want me to use instead? This question often comes with an eye roll, grimace, or note of panic because of an approaching deadline.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of the Associate Director for Communication published Everyday Words for Public Health Communication in November 2015. It is Version 1 of plain language suggestions – not mandates – to answer that “what instead” question. This blog is the story of how the document came to be.
Should I make my website accessible to people with disabilities?
Yes! About 20% of Americans – some 60 million people – have a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The largest and fastest growing type of disability is visual. Think baby boomers moving from spectacles to screen readers, and living longer than ever before…
Making your website accessible opens it up to more people, and for many of us, it is required by law. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (508 for short) says that any agency that gets money from the federal government must make its site and its downloadable PDFs accessible.
Plain Language: It’s not only about words
Over the past few years, I’ve been writing a book about ethics and plain language. I was invited to reflect here on what I’ve learned, and I’m happy to share six of the most important lessons that stand out for me.