In this issue of Healthcare Matters we have featured Widgit as our Symbolised Communication Technology Company of the Month.
Clear, accessible communication is fundamental to safe, effective, and compassionate care, yet it is often overlooked. When people cannot understand information, the consequences can include increased anxiety, reduced independence, and poorer outcomes, particularly in health and care settings.
Widgit believes symbols are a powerful and practical way to bridge this gap. By supporting understanding, choice, and participation, symbols help individuals engage more confidently with healthcare services, education and the wider community.
Founded in 1983 and driven by the desire to create software that could support people who struggle to understand and be understood, the inspiration for Widgit came from a clear recognition that many individuals, regardless of age or ability, face barriers to communication and understanding.
Since then, Widgit has continued to innovate and become a recognised leader in inclusive EdTech and accessible communication, while remaining true to its founding belief – that symbols can support comprehension, independence, and self-expression in any environment.
Widgit empowers individuals to express themselves independently through symbols and the company supports people who experience communication difficulties no matter their age. This includes autistic people, individuals with learning disabilities, speech and language needs, cognitive impairments, dementia, aphasia, and people recovering from stroke, as well as those with low literacy or English as an additional language.
Widgit’s core software products, Widgit Online and InPrint, provide users with access to Widgit’s extensive and widely recognised symbol language. These tools enable the creation of a broad range of personalised resources. Within health and care, Widgit’s tools enable organisations to create personalised materials such as patient communication sheets, visual timetables, care plans and procedure guides.
The company is distinguished by the depth, quality and consistency of its symbols-based communication system. The Widgit Symbol Set has been developed and refined over nearly 40 years and now includes more than 20,000 symbols, representing an English vocabulary of over 55,000 words and supporting over 80 languages worldwide.
A defining feature of the Widgit Symbol Set is its schematic structure, a set of design rules that ensure symbols are clear, consistent and easy to interpret. This structured approach is particularly important for people with diverse learning and communication needs, enabling faster recognition, improved comprehension and greater confidence when engaging with information.
Widgit’s software also offers a major competitive advantage through its automated symbolisation technology. This intelligent feature analyses text at sentence level to select the most appropriate symbols, enabling users to quickly create and edit symbol-supported materials with minimal effort.
Crucially, automated symbolisation ensures consistent use of symbols for specific words and concepts across all materials. This consistency is vital for learners and service users with SEND and communication needs, who rely on familiarity and repetition to build understanding, whether in education, healthcare or everyday environments.
Alongside its software, Widgit works closely with a broad range of organisations through its Symbol-Friendly Organisations initiative. This programme supports organisations to make their services, environments and experiences accessible to everyone.
Widgit works in partnership with NHS trusts to develop symbol-supported resources that help patients understand medical processes, reduce anxiety, and engage more confidently with healthcare services. This includes work with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, where symbol-supported resources have been used to improve communication and patient experience.
Currently, the company is also working on a number of projects with NHS trusts and healthcare providers, exploring how symbol-supported information can help services meet the requirements of the Accessible Information Standard and deliver clearer, more inclusive patient communication.
This includes supporting the development of symbol-based patient resources, such as procedure explanations, appointment information, and communication aids, designed to help people better understand what is happening to them, reduce anxiety, and engage more confidently with care.
Looking ahead, Widgit aims to further embed symbols in health and care settings, supporting organisations in improving patient communication, reducing anxiety and delivering more inclusive, person-centred services.
Beyond health and care, Widgit’s ambition is to take symbols into the mainstream, ensuring accessible communication is part of everyday life. This includes expanding the use of symbols across public services, transport, leisure and community spaces, so people encounter consistent, accessible communication wherever they go.
Widgit’s guiding philosophy is rooted in the simple yet powerful belief that nobody should feel left behind. It exists to harness the power of symbols to support communication, understanding, independence and inclusion for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
Its work reflects deeply held values of integrity, kindness and quality, which shape how the company designs products, supports customers and engages with communities around the world. Through its combination of software, symbol expertise, and organisation-wide accessibility support, Widgit helps ensure inclusive communication is embedded across everyday life.
For more on Widgit, please see below:
T 01926 333680
info@widgit.com
www.widgit.com