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Puzzle. Developing easy to read formats for people with intellectual disabilities.
Start date: Sep 1, 2015, End date: Aug 31, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Despite the progress made there is still a significant gap in the opportunities that young adults and adults with intellectual disabilities in European countries such as Greece, Poland, and Lithuania have for education and training or for participation in the social and economic spheres of life. Among the contributing factors are: a) the lack of trained educators or other staff working with people with intellectual disabilities on text transformation processes in forms that are adapted to the needs and language skills of such persons, and b) the low utilization of ICT for learning purposes with the use of adapted materials, both because of lack of educators' awareness about and availability of suitable digital tools and because they lack appropriate knowledge and skills. In response to this problem is proposed the transfer knowledge and experience from experts of the Swedish governmental agency for accessible media MTM on the use of the "easy to read" method, which facilitates the transformation of text into forms that are easily understandable by people with limited capabilities in reading. The expertise of the Rix Research of the East London University (UEL) in Britain, which is a pioneer in the development of applications friendly to people with disabilities, is also utilized to integrate the use of the "easy to read" method in environments designed specifically for people with limited reading comprehension capabilities. The Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) from Greece, which also has extensive experience in the development of related applications, will further contribute to this effort. The main part of the project focuses on training professionals from Greece, Poland and Lithuania who work in agencies providing educational services for people with intellectual disabilities. These bodies are doing exceptional work and are well networked in their countries. An international team of 12 professionals will be trained in two short training sessions by the MTM specialists on the "easy to read" method and by the UEL specialists on how to exploit the potentials offered by new technologies for people with intellectual disabilities. During the project there will be developed a manual on the "easy to read" method and learning material with the latest developments in the field of electronic applications for people with intellectual disabilities. Research will further be conducted in Greece, Lithuania and Poland to assess the needs of people with intellectual disabilities for information and learning on human rights issues. The above will lead to the development of an e-learning platform and mobile application with information and learning materials in "easy to read" format on human rights issues, and finally to the design and pilot testing in EL, LT and PL of a series of lesson plans that utilize the "easy to read" method for the education of people with intellectual disabilities on their basic rights. The implementation of the project is expected to motivate more professionals and organizations to develop their skills and use "easy to read" texts through electronic applications for the benefit of people with intellectual disabilities. It is also expected to produce important information / educational materials and tools in "easy to read" format, for free use by any person with difficulties in reading comprehension. The benefits of the project are significant and extend beyond the end of its life-cycle. It is expected to empower significantly professionals and organizations in the field and widen considerably the learning opportunities of people with difficulties in reading comprehension.
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