Assistive Technology Focus: Screen Readers
…the Internet can mean many things to people with a disability: a luxury, a necessity, a way to participate in the information society, a way to gain access to more information than was previously available, or only one of the many ways of accessing information. It is also seen as a technology which may potentially disadvantage them if they cannot access it.
From The Internet for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Imagine online shopping or editing a Word doc without being able to see the screen. Seems impossible right? Luckily for people with visual impairments, both the tasks mentioned, and much more, can be accomplished by using a screen reader. Screen readers are a type of assistive technology that reads the text and interactive components on a computer screen aloud while a keyboard is used to control what is happening on screen (in place of a mouse). Below is a video from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Assistant Professor Rakesh Babu on how screen readers work:
The first screen readers came online in the late 1980s when an IBM employee created one for his low-vision coworkers. This invention blossomed into one of the most influential devices enabling folks with visual disabilities access the internet, computers and ultimately, information. Screen readers aren’t only for visually impaired folks, they can also help others– like those with dyslexia, motor disabilities and cognitive disabilities.
Screen readers won’t automatically work as intended–websites and apps need to be built with the proper markup and structure for screen readers to function appropriately. Below is a video with an example of how coding a web page without adhering to accessibility guidelines results in confusion and not enough information for a user to understand what is on the screen.
Please note: This video is from 2014. Here is the New York Times’ page on accessibility.
[Computer-generated voice-over of a screen reader reading the New York Times home webpage]
Breaking news world news and multimedia
Window sections button search button
Internal link internal link list one
Item link and of list login button settings button
List three item U.S. link link end of list
Frame heading list one item Thursday
Link link and leaving the list two
Link link link link link link link link
End of list leaving group landmark
Entering main landmark frame two heading
Level two top news heading level two
Link US Attorney Warren’s Cuomo on ethics investigation by Suzanne Craig Thomas Kaplan and William K Rashbaum. The letter from the prosecutor investigating Governor Andrew M Cuomo’s cancellation of his own anti-corruption Commission came after members of the panel publicly defended the governor’s handling of the Commission link one for for comments
Heading level two link Netanyahu vows to continue destroying Gaza tunnel.
So, we can’t just assume that all websites, applications and other IT products are compatible with screen reader technology. We need to build these products with accessibility guidelines in focus, or we risk defeating the crucial purpose of these advances. As Prof. Babu noted, “With a little bit of understanding and compassion, designers can build technologies that are more blind-friendly.”
Popular Screen Readers
Source: WebAIM
