My story

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I was incredibly fortunate to start my career at the time of "Valuing People". This was learning-disability-specific legislation, launched by the Blair government in 2001. Valuing People was groundbreaking, and it created a time of great hope and change across the whole learning disability sector. 

Learning Disability Partnership Boards were rapidly set up, along with regional Valuing People Support Teams and the National Forum of People with Learning Disabilities. All of these initiatives propelled self-advocacy forward, and speaking-up groups were founded and strengthened across the country.

My career began with 2 years as a support worker in a residential care home. This made me realise that my heart was in advocacy, because so much needed to change. I saw that people with learning disabilities had very little control over their own day-to-day lives. Self-advocacy, supported by accessible information, was (and still is!) a vital route to giving people the power that they need and deserve. So, I joined People First Dorset and have been making Easy Read information ever since. 23 years later, the battles still have not been won: there is much still to do. 

At People First Dorset and also Bournemouth People First (now People First Forum) I was very fortunate to work on many different projects, alongside my colleagues with learning disabilities;
 

• Total Communication 

• Easy Read - design work and delivering training courses

• Running Local Authority consultations

• Supporting Partnership Boards to be accessible and inclusive

• Running teams of Quality Checkers, to visit day services and residential homes

• Facilitating Speaking Up groups

• Learning disability awareness training - for the police, NHS staff, care providers and more

• Supporting the Dorset Forum, which sent representatives to the National Forum 

• Speak Up Make Music - a self-advocacy project with the awesome Laura Cousins. It was designed for people who do not use words to communicate - we used music instead!
   

Easy Read was the thread that ran through every part of my work at People First. Meeting notes, agendas, training plans, Quality Check reports, consultations and more. My work was also regularly (and honestly!) reviewed by our members.

Developing my design skills 

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I have never studied graphic design formally. I started out by thinking: “What IS it that makes a page design look professional?”

There were no Easy Read courses in the early 2000s, so I looked for inspiration everywhere I went. There are many good graphic design courses and other resources online, and the principles of clear, minimalist design are universal. 

Easy Read has evolved to follow a widely accepted format, but I still love to draw, experiment, and push the boundaries from time-to-time. The guiding force must always be the reader, and what is most useful and interesting to them.

The vast majority of my learning about design has come from working directly with people with learning disabilities and asking them questions about my work: 

• What is this leaflet about? 

• What do you like about it?

• Which parts are hardest to understand? 

• What is this image trying to tell you? 

• How can I improve it? 

And I always give people permission to be honest: criticism is far more useful to me than compliments! 

Business and management 

In 2016 I became more interested in organisations as complex systems of people who “get things done”. I wanted to know why some organisations function well, and why others don’t.

I also saw an acute need for business skills in the charity sector. So, I enrolled on an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) with The Open University, signing up for modules in strategy, finance, marketing, creativity, entrepreneurship, HR and much more.

During the entrepreneurship course we were randomly assigned a team of 6 other students to work on a project. One of these students pitched an idea about making Easy Read information! What are the chances of this happening in a mostly-corporate cohort of students? Easy Read is quite niche! So of course, we got talking. He was about to relocate to Europe and had some Easy Read work that he couldn't do. My side-hustle was born! A couple of years later my side-hustle became my full-time job, and I couldn't be happier! 

And apart from all that…

I live in a beautiful part of the world - Dorset, on the south coast of England. I am also a qualified Personal Trainer - passing on my near-obsession for health and fitness, working from a beautiful private gym run by Dorchester Personal Training.

At the weekends I often play in ceilidh bands, for weddings and other functions. Violin playing is a lifelong passion, especially Irish fiddle, which has been my preferred style since about 1999. I'm also very keen on horses, and get to ride thanks to a friend and colleague from my People First Dorset days.