Many different factors and situations can make it difficult for people to read, for example, cognitive impairment, reading in a second language, high stress situations, vision problems, and dyslexia. This year at CHI 2010, Kath Straub participated in the workshop Design to Read: Designing for People Who Do Not Read Easily. The workshop brought together expert practioners in the usability and accessibility fields to consider issues related to writing for audiences and situations when reading is not easy. Participants in the workshop first explored strategies that can enhance readability in different "hard to read" contexts, and then discussed how to leverage strategies from one context for use in other contexts.

In this interactive session, Kath will review these strategies with us and help us consider how we can apply them in our own work as technical writers.

If you are not familiar with CHI workshops, they provide a venue where professionals with common interests can discuss and explore a particular area of interest. Workshops often move an area of study forward, and can result in additional research or writings. For more about CHI workshops, see http://www.chi2010.org/authors/cfp-workshop-participants.html.