EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND COMMUNICATION (EUC) AT THE EXHIBITION HANDLE WITH CARE

The aim of using Easy-to-Understand Communication (EUC) is to ensure that the verbal information being communicated can be understood by a wider audience, as a form of communication barrier removal. The exhibition Handle with Care is the first exhibition at the Ludwig Museum where the texts are also available in the exhibition space in an easy-to-understand version.

By making the text easier to read, we support reading comprehension and understanding of the information presented. The easy-to-understand text is structured according to internationally agreed guidelines (some important guidelines are: concise wording; simple sentences; avoiding the use of foreign words, acronyms, technical terms, abbreviations, abstract concepts, etc.).

The process of producing a text that follows the rules of easy-to-understand communication includes – and can only be called a EUC text – the involvement of experts with experience in the process. Experts with experience are people who need an easy-to-understand transcription in order to understand a text. They can be, for example, people with Down syndrome, people born with oxygen deficiency, people with autism and people with various other conditions.

• The primary target group for the use of Easy-to-Understand Communication are people with intellectual disabilities: people with specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia; people with poor language skills.
• The secondary target group is people with comprehension problems (other disability-specific groups), e.g.: deaf people with severe or multiple disabilities; people who speak Hungarian as a foreign language and poorly; socially disadvantaged people; people with dementia.
• The tertiary target group can include anyone.

The information presented in an easy-to-understand communication format is accessible to people of all literacy levels in a simple, clear form, in many cases helping the reader to access essential information in a shorter time.

For more information on this topic, see RITA FARKASNÉ GÖNCZI, A könnyen érthető kommunikáció fogalma és szabályrendszere nemzetközi és hazai példák, illetve magyar tapasztalati szakértők javaslatai alapján [The concept and rules of easy-to-understand communication based on international and Hungarian examples and suggestions of Hungarian experts], Gyógypedagógiai szemle vol. 46. no. 1 (January-March 2018).

The logo of Easy to Understand Communication (EUC), which draws attention to the presence of the EUC texts in the exhibition space of the Ludwig Museum:

In Hungary, ÉFOÉSZ (National Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Helpers) is engaged in the production and monitoring of Easy to Understand publications and the training of professionals in the methodology of Easy to Understand Communication.