Read how her daughter’s diagnosis of dyslexia led Claire Biggs on a journey of discovery around accessible fonts, coloured overlays and other ways to help worship and Scripture become more accessible.
Having seen the impact this has had on some in their church community, she’s now a passionate advocate for churches exploring this themselves. Good News indeed!
I am Claire Biggs, a lay worker in the Halas Parish, based at St Johns Church in Halesowen.
I started working at the church in November last year following a 6 year post with the Methodist church as a children and families worker where I was introduced to the Dyslexia friendly Bible following my own daughter’s diagnosis. We were doing a lot of work with families with children who have additional needs at the time, little did I know how much they would help me!
I introduced the Bibles in my interview for the Lay role with St Johns and am making it a mission to make church more accessible for more people.
We ordered a range of resources, including the green covered books of the Bible which is what my daughter like to use. The font and page colour make it easier for her to read and process the text. The large full Bible was a blessing also. This one came with a pack of 15 coloured gels which you place on the page to allow you to read according to your colour preference.
Our Curate Rev’d Sarah had talked with a lady in our church (Julie-Ann) about her struggles, thankfully she was not embarrassed or ashamed to share with us and we introduced her to the Bible resources. I have to admit, tears were shed. It was an emotional moment – Julie-Ann read a passage from the Bible beautifully and disclosed this was the first time she had been confidently able to do this in church before. She is now wanting to order her own copy. I later received a WhatsApp message from Julie-Ann reading:
“Thank you Hazel and Claire for introducing me to the new Bible for dyslexia. I was so excited and overwhelmed by it. And it’s fantastic that the church is being inclusive, different is good, but acceptance is better ” Julie-Anne
My daughter, Charlotte (16) has been advocating these Bibles for the last 3 years since we were introduced – they really are changing people’s lives and making church far more accessible. A small step on a long journey for us as a church, but it’s the right direction – especially for Charlotte and Julie-Ann. My Vicar Rev’d Hazel Charlton and I are working on a lot more now such as Sensory bags and picture signage, we are also using the widgit resources for our children’s work and working with SEND parents to help provide a more accessible space.
Claire Biggs, Lay worker Halas Parish, Halesowen.
To explore the widget resources yourself visit https://www.widgit.com/resources/index.htm
October 6-13th is this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week. The simple addition of coloured sheets to overlay printed material can help folk with Visual Stress and Irlen Syndrome. They help assist to mitigate potential visual perceptual problems. Buying a few packs and having them available for people to try and use might help more people than you realise! Why not see if your church can broaden their resources and understanding of ways to reduce the barriers for Dyslexics in time to celebrate the week?
If you’re interested in the printing/typesetting side of this work this article (linked below) has some further info (CT aren’t known for their inclusive theology, so visit their page with caution, they tend to be broadly central with a lean to conservative evangelicalism)