Discrimination against shoppers who cant read

eira

other cheap sources are the stuff shops throw out-posters /ad displays etc.I've done quite a bit of scrounging in my time for teaching materials. Go in and ask-say who you are/what you do-shops can be really pleased to find a use for material gets thrown out.Or try an e mail to head office from your work e mail if you have one . There aren't books etc for people who are functionallly illiterate but you can do a lot with imagination and scrounging materials

Jacks_xxx

Both my grandmothers are dead now, but I can remember both of them telling "amusing" stories about the packaging of value products looking so similar that they'd had a tin of peaches and toast for supper last night instead of beans on toast - a picture on the tin would certainly have helped prevent those fairly frequent episodes.

My mother in law is currently having problems recognising words some days after having read perfectly well for 75 years. She won't see the doctor because of her own judgemental feelings about people who can't read. It would be too shameful a thing for her to admit and she worries a lot about what people think. She'd never pop next door and ask for help working out which can was beans and which was peaches because she'd expect them to look down on her if she did.

I always tell her that nobody would judge her for having a problem, but this thread has really opened my eyes, because evidently lots of people would.

We've tried numbering, and dividing sweet from savoury - but when she can't read the packet she can't read numbers, posters or signs on the wall either.

I just wanted to thank Jack of all for posting and making us aware of the problem. I am more than a little ashamed that I have never thought about who else suffers because of no pictures on packaging before.

I feel desperately sorry for anybody who is trying to live independently hampered by any kind of impairment or disability no matter what it is.

Bulwer

terryw wrote: »

Sometimes packets are misleading. I bought a product showing a tall, strong, kilt-wearing Scotsman but unfortunately there were just oats inside the box.

I know what you mean - I bought a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle of a cockerel the other day but when I opened it up, all the pieces were just plain orange on each side. I shall be composing a strongly worded email to Kelloggs, I can tell you!

emerald_starcat

My ex MIL put a packet of dry crumble mix (both tesco value) in with a packet of dry mash potato mix to make mash pots for the sunday roast. They are exactly the same packets (weight etc) but different writing.

Anyway it tasted foul and no one knew why until she dug the packets out of the bin.

She could read perfectly well, was just in a rush when she got them out of the cupboard and assumed both packets were the same. :rotfl:

Errata

I remember taking my pa his weekly sweeties: toffees, mints, dolly mixtures. Unfortunately I picked a packet of Doggy Mixtures out of the cupboard! Similar packets, very different taste and very much not to his liking :eek:

dazzer68

bizarre. where do we stop,
all menus must have apicture?
all buses to have apicture of the town they are going to?
planes taxis? cookery books?
how about someone somewhere asking why they cant read? im not talking about blind or partially sighted which is not being discussed here, but people that cant read.
the whole point of 'value range; is that it doesnt have fancy costly packaging. if theres a problem with peopl not knowing what BAKED BEANS mean im not sure if its the supermarkets fault?
when you do the shopping for them how about making a book, photo of tin the picture of contents?
i would think that most people that cant read could recognise a label if they couldnt read baked beans they would see the word and know what was init?

jack_of_all

Hi my OP wasn't that detailed cos I thought the problem may exist similarly for any one who can't read and my situation is a little more unique. I am looking after two of my brothers with severe learning difficulties in their own home which I provided for their security. It generates a rental income of over £100 and this income means I can't claim carer's allowance, so I have a low income and my cupboards contain plenty of budget grogeries, I run their house on there own benefits and if I want to give them a life too like holidays, decent special occasions decents living conditions, there council day centre absorbs quite a bit of cash each week, so I buy them budget brands also. A person who's illitracy is their only real problem I'm sure would just pop an incorrectly opened tin it the fridge to use within a day or so. I have relied heavily on home made labels for all sorts of things, I am not trained in care nor am I paid to care, I have to take extra earning opertunitues as I can manage them cos I want to have a life too, I usually do shopping at Asda after midnight cos I,m just too busy. Starting to label tins and just a few other items at this time was another job I could do without coarse I still got go home and unpack my own shopping and be up in the morning. Everything I do is just another little job but there's always something I can't get done and theres no such thing as a day off, not today easter Sunday, Not tommorrow a bank holiday and not to be sick. The answer to coping is efficiency and you can't get more efficient than removing a job, Asda have done that for me with picture labelling of most their own budget brand. This post is not in responce to anyone elses just more info behind my reason for questioning labelling in the first place. Ambrosia don't have a picture of rice pudding and my brothers can recognise that but I can buy ASDA smartprice too if i want cos this now has a picture on it ( althouh I don't, have you tried it). I buy there corned beef and tuna that still have no picture, but no problems cos of the unique shaped tins. My point was at one time in Asda I was unable to buy some budget items without creating more work for my self and stood in the store I recented this and felt discriminted, homemade labels have to be created, applied everytime. I teach my brothers lots of things and then a day or so down the line it just goes again. If all I did was the shopping It would not have been much of a problem, Funny thing is they both cook ok with teaching and regular reinforcment, Yet so much other stuff is a non starter, we have had problems with budget toiletries, ie shampoo, conditioner shower gel and bath creames etc, but I get some from asda and some from wiko and stick to the same products religously that they have learned to Identify. I have a third more severely diabled brother who lived next door to the other two with my mum until she suddendly died a couple of months ago, so now the stuff has really hit the fan, she was an obssessive shopper and hoarder worse than anything you likley to see on the up and coming TV series about the problem starting Thursday 8th April not sure what channel, but I will be watching it knowing I have many of the solutions for dealing with people with this disorder, my best tip is "Run a bloody mile", wow I gone on a lot and I really have not got the time, so thats me lot.

chalkysoil

you must feel very isolated taking on such responsibilities, I hope the social services or some department give you a hand? Or a respite. Or contact with other carers. Does their daycentre have any advice or way of meeting other carers?
I still think that budget brands could have their labels improved on at no great cost to anyone and this would help lots of people of all different needs, lets hope Sainsbury, Tesco etc are reading this thread.

Also, I do wish the ingredients and helpline numbers weren't so small, an elderly gent approached me in sainsburys last week because he couldn't read the writing on an airfreshening gadget of some sort. I had my reading glasses with me but it was still a struggle being green micro print on a black background.

Techno

WhiteHorse wrote: »

No they don't. There is a world of difference between being blind, unable to understand, or simply illiterate.

This is close to fanaticism.

What I was trying to say is the difficulty experienced in understanding what is in the tin/packet is no different but maybe I should have finished that sentence with ' they all have the same problem in that they can't read the written English word' and will now amend my post to say exactly that

However, some of the assumptions people are making shows how little we all have to do with people with severe learning disabilities. Imagine giving a toddler a can with 'baked beans' written on it and a picture with baked beans written next to it. Would you expect the average toddler to be able to compare the words and know there are baked beans in the tin they are holding? It can take weeks or even months of intensive support to help people with a severe learning disability to learn what we would consider to be very simple tasks and in fairness to poor Jack, (having now read his further explaination) he is caring for his brothers on top of everything else he is doing - carers are one of the most important but undervalued (by society) resources out there.

Jack of all I assumed you were a paid carer not a family carer - do you have a social worker for your brothers and if so have they made sure that both of your brothers are claiming everything they are entitled to as far as benefits go? Are they getting rent allowance, council tax allowance, disability living, mobilty (possibly) etc etc. What does their care plan say they need? Can they claim Direct Payments and then they can employ you to provide their care (as long as you don't actually live with them) Is there a local Learning Disability voluntary organisation you can contact for support and advice? Lots of questions but you/they should be getting some decent support from your local social services department and if not the voluntary sector can help you to 'fight' for it.

Owain_Moneysaver

xycom1 wrote: »

Couldn't you draw a picture on for them with permanent marker? Or get them signed up to a class to teach them to read?

If you can draw a picture on a tin that shows the difference between baked beans, sweetcorn, and peas, you're a better artist than I am.

As for teaching people to read, there are some people who will never get beyond the 'point at the picture and say what it is' stage, but they appreciate being able to choose what to have for dinner instead of it being chosen for them.

And I think the 'baby food' was a question of causing offence, not people really thinking there was tinned baby inside. After all, we don't have pictures of men's bits on packs of Viagra (I presume, never having needed to use it) do we.