Guide to Symbols:

What are symbol highlights?

A symbol highlight consists of three to six symbols which communicate the basic message of a passage of text. A highlight communicates the same amount of information as a newspaper article headline, in that it provides a very basic summary of the main message within the content, as a headline would for an article. Providing symbol support with highlights allows a reader who struggles with text to take more information from a passage of text than key symbols would provide. Key symbols only communicate a very simple, single message. However, a highlight provides enough symbol support for the basic message of the text to be understood.

 

Where would symbol highlights be used?

Information displays
Symbol highlights work especially well on information panels and as part of display information.

Documents
As symbol highlights provide just the key message of a passage of text, they can also act as an effective tool for skim-reading. Including a highlight makes the document more accessible to struggling readers, who can use the symbols to understand the main message of the text. Symbol highlights are particularly effective in printed documents where space is limited, as they provide a degree of symbol support without taking up too much space or dramatically affecting the layout of the document.

 

Symbol highlights were used in an Easy Read version of ‘What next in Solihull?’, a booklet produced by Solihull Borough Council for young people in the area with learning disabilities, their parents, carers and professionals, containing information on choices available after leaving school.

This was an inclusive document which could be accessed by young people who may struggle with written text, and by adults who are likely to be non-symbol readers. Therefore, the symbol support needed to be prominent enough to give struggling readers the chance to understand the main messages of the text, without being distracting for readers who do not need this extra support.