Bibles For People With Reading Disabilities

A reader writes:

I’m sorry to bug you.  I have been reading your blog for over a year now and have enjoyed it very much.  I know your busy but I have a problem I can’t seen to fix and you have that nice button on your site inviting people to email you.  😉   

My son who is 12 years old has a pretty severe learning disability.  He also has Asberger’s (a mild form of autism).  I am trying to find a very simple translation of the Bible he can use when he is at Sunday school.  Do you know any way to find out the reading level of different Bible translations or what would be a good translation for someone with learning disabilities.  Any help would be appreciated.

There are a number of guides to the reading difficulty of different Bible translations, but I’ve been out of that loop for a few years and can’t recommend such a guide of the top of my head.

What I can do is give you the names of a number of very easy to read translations, some of which were specifically done for children or people with restricted vocabularies (e.g., non-native English speakers).

So here goes:

  • The New International Version. This is a fairly simple translation that you may wish to check out, though it is a bit above some of the others in reading level. There is an advantage with this one in that there is a Catholic youth version of the New Testament available in it.
  • The New International Readers Version is a simplified form of the previous translation. It is meant for people who have difficulty reading.
  • Today’s English Version A.K.A. The Good News Bible is one of the easiest to read that I have personal experience with. It also has a Catholic edition available. The deuterocanonicals are available in this translation.
  • The Living Bible is a paraphrase that was done specifically for children. There are also a Catholic edition of this. The deuterocanonicals are available. There is also a revision of this one known as The New Living Translation, though I haven’t read that one.
  • The EasyEnglish Bible has about a 1200 word vocabulary and is designed for those with trouble reading.
  • The Contemporary English Version is another meant for easy reading. It also has the deuterocanonicals available in this translation.
  • The Worldwide English New Testament was written for students in other countries whose grasp of English is limited.
  • The Bible in Basic English has about a 1000 word vocabulary.

MORE VERSION INFO HERE.

Having metioned these, I need to give a couple of caveats. First, these versions (even ones for which there are Catholic editions) are Protestant and have a number of limitations. Some do not have all the books of the Catholic Bible. Others have theological bias in some passages and may in some editions have problematic footnotes.

Second, the fact that these versions are dynamic equivalence or paraphrases–plus the fact that many have restricted vocabularies–mean that they often flatten out the theology of the text and risk introducing more of the biases of the translators.

I say that not to discourage you from using them with your son, but just to say that you should check them out first and are likely to need to help your son with troublesome aspects of the texts. (I’d get a version without footnotes if possible to help avoid problems.)

More information is available about all of them online, and the links above will help point you to it. The complete text of some of these versions is also available online (check out Bible Gateway among other sites).

I don’t know how significant the reading problem that your son has is, but these could help him learn more about the Bible. He may eventually be able to graduate to reading more advanced versions of the Bible that will help him learn even more.

I’d like to be encouraging in this regard because I have a reading disability. I’m dyslexic. I had a lot of trouble learning to read as a kid, and I had to have special training. Eventually, though, I was reading above my grade level, and today I’m interacting with Bible versions that aren’t even in English, so I’d like to encourage you about what can happen in situations like this.

To that end, let me give another suggestion: Consider using audio versions of the Bible with your son.

One of the ways that they helped me with reading when I was a boy is they sat me down with a machine called a Reader Hoffman, which played a record and a filmstrip at the same time and read to me as I read along with the text.

There are a lot of audio versions of the Bible out there already, and if you use computer tech like what I recommend here (and here) you can produce audio versions of any Bible for which you can get an electronic text.

At least it’s something to consider and maybe experiment with.

Hope this helps, and God bless!

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

8 thoughts on “Bibles For People With Reading Disabilities”

  1. Thanks so much. I will check these out. My son has a real talent for audio memory and those versions may be very helpful. Thanks again.

  2. Have you thumbed through the Douay-Rheims? It may not be appropriate for your son, you’ll have to decide. I’m just putting in my two cents.
    Also, have you tried calling local stores like Catholic and Protestant bookstores to see if they have any suggestions? They’re usually helpful and can special order stuff.

  3. The lower end vocabulary translations really veer off in the books of Proverbs and Sirach. They take a great deal of liberty.

  4. If you might also want to check out Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic. It’s not free, alas… the inital cost for the first year is $100, and it’s $35 a year thereafter, but maybe your parish would help defray the cost? More information at http://www.rfbd.org/membership_3.htm (this is intended for parents).
    The National Library Service http://www.loc.gov/nls/ may also be able to help, but their qua;ificatioin requirements for people with learning disabilities are much more stringent…
    Jimmy, I hope you don’t mind my posting these links.
    Anyone who would like more help or information can contact me directly, just put something descriptive in the subject heading so I know you aren’t spam. (I’m sorry these services are only for U.S. readers, but I can probably help you find a service in your country if there is one.)

  5. Douay-Rheims for someone with a learning disability?
    Although many of my relatives don’t agree, I don’t have any learning disabilities, and I have trouble understanding this version.

  6. The D-R version gets a bum rap these days, mostly due to the fringe groups who treat it like an autograph, much like the KJV-only cultists in the Protestant world.
    Though certainly not for people without good adult reading skills, the language really is quite beautiful, and for some reason, just sounds somehow familiar. I wish I owned a copy, but for now, I just look at it occasionally online.

  7. Gee, I feel I almost started a DRC flame war here. 🙂
    Before, I almost posted a link to Vulsearch. I think I’ll do it now. vulsearch.sourceforge.net
    You can increase the font size to whatever’s comfortable, though you have to share the screen real estate with the Latin text. Obviously, not a good choice for being in a bible study group, but might still be good for at home (assuming the DRC is considered not too poor a version for your son’s needs.)

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