An introduction to screen readers

Ubiquitous Accessibility for People with Visual Impairments: Are We There Yet?

Ubiquitous access is an increasingly common vision of computing, wherein users can interact with any computing device or service from anywhere, at any time. In the era of personal computing, users with visual impairments required special-purpose, assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to interact with computers. This paper investigates whether technologies like screen readers have kept pace with, or have created a barrier to, the trend toward ubiquitous access, with a specific focus on desktop computing as this is still the primary way computers are used in education and employment. Towards that, the paper presents a user study with 21 visually-impaired participants, specifically involving the switching of screen readers within and across different computing platforms, and the use of screen readers in remote access scenarios. Among the findings, the study shows that, even for remote desktop access—an early forerunner of true ubiquitous access—screen readers are too limited, if not unusable. The study also identifies several accessibility needs, such as uniformity of navigational experience across devices, and recommends potential solutions. In summary, assistive technologies have not made the jump into the era of ubiquitous access, and multiple, inconsistent screen readers create new practical problems for users with visual impairments.

A Deep Dive into Accessibility APIs, Part 1 — Knowbility

In this first Deep Dive into Accessibility APIs installment, we'll start from absolute scratch and recount the widely available basic story. It's written for beginners, but the fact that I describe web accessibility in the broader context of software accessibility might offer a different twist for current practitioners as well. Parts 2 and 3, on the other hand, are more technical. Although those discussions may largely be of interest only to "inquiring minds that want to know", understanding the history and variety of the specialized protocols at the heart of this process sheds light on why screen readers sometimes perform differently in the same application or on the same web site while also providing a glimpse of a likely future.

Your Browser May Be Having a Secret Relationship with a Screen Reader: A Deep Dive into Accessibility APIs, Part 3 — Knowbility

The final installment of the three-part saga on the technical details of how screen readers communicate with other software.

The Road to Good Intentions Is Paved with Hell: A Deep Dive into Accessibility APIs, Part 2 — Knowbility

This post is the second in a three-part series about how screen readers obtain what users need from applications and operating systems.

React component for screen reader accessibility • Josh W. Comeau

A convenient component for contextualizing visual content for screen readers

Oatmeal - Screen readers

The aim here isn’t to teach you how to use a screen reader, nor really about how screen readers work. My aim is to help build a mental model of

Digital accessibility is real and tangible

A workshop using real-life examples and first-hand experience of how assistive technology works can result in a deeper understanding of accessibility needs

A History of Accessibility at IBM

If you are reading this article, there is a good chance that you are using a screen reader, a term that is as generic to assistive technology as Kleenex is to facial tissues or Jell-o is to gelatin desserts. What you may not know, however, is that Screen Reader was once a proprietary product of IBM, rather than the generic term for the way people who are blind or have low vision gain access to computer screens. In fact, our terminals became "talkies" just 20 years ago, in 1984, largely because of the work of Jim Thatcher, then a mathematician for IBM, the world's largest technology company. This auspicious anniversary is an appropriate time to look back on the pioneering efforts of IBM and what it plans for the future.

Artificial intelligence-powered smart vision glasses for the visually impaired

Purpose: In India, 4.80 million people are blind, and 4.69 million have severe visual impairment. Globally, the digital era and the advent of artificial intelligence devices offer solutions for daily challenges faced by the visually impaired, but they are often expensive. This study evaluates the acceptance and usability of a cost-effective AI-powered spectacle-mounted assistive device in a multicentric Indian cohort. Methods: Smart vision glass (SVG) is a lightweight tool, mounted on a spectacle frame with braille-coded keys and a real-time voice interface for guiding the visually impaired, and is connected to a smartphone Android App. The four major functions of the device are as follows: “Things Around You,” “Reading,” “Walking Assistance,” and “Face Recognition.” Ninety participants were recruited from five vision rehabilitation centers across India, and feedback was collected after a month’s usage. Results: The mean age of the participants was 23.5 years (range: 6 to 56 years) with 58.9% male; 51% from rural areas; and 64.4% students. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, 90% of the participants were blind (best corrected visual acuity in better eye less than 3/60). A total of 100% of the participants were able to access all the functions of the SVG. Participants reported a positive experience with “Reading” (72.9%), “Things Around You” (44.7%), “Face Recognition” (36.5%), and “Walking Assistance” (22.4%). About 2/3rd of the participants utilized the device for an hour or more per day. Conclusion: SVG is a promising cost-effective device for the blind and severe visually impaired in aiding their day-to-day challenges and becoming self-reliant.

Rethinking the human-readability infrastructure

As part of the Digital Library's transition to Open Access, new features for researchers are available in the Premium Edition. Click here to learn more.

Readwise Reader: The first read-it-later app built for power readers.

Save everything to one place to overcome content overload, search instantly, and highlight like a pro.

Reader guide · Standard Reader

How to use Standard Reader — following, reading, listening, and making it yours. No technical knowledge needed.

Addressing Accessibility Barriers in Programming for People with Visual Impairments: A Literature Review

Accessibility issues with programming languages and programming environments pose a major barrier for students with visual impairments to participate in computing related courses as well as threatens the productivity of professional programmers with visual impairments. To remedy this, the past two decades have witnessed an increase in accessibility research designed to investigate and address the challenges faced by people with visual impairments while programming or learning how to program. We conducted a literature review of accessibility research in this domain. The aim was to identify, aggregate, and highlight known accessibility barriers to programming faced by professional programmers and students with visual impairments learning how to code as well as to identify all solutions that have been proposed to address these barriers. We selected and analyzed 70 papers reporting on accessibility of programming and programming environments for people with visual impairments. Numerous barriers to programming by people with visual impairments have been identified in the literature. Some of these barriers are understudied and present opportunities for future work. A lot of studies have also proposed tools and new accessible programming languages to address the accessibility issues of current programming languages and programming environments.

brief history of browser accessibility support

Author: steve faulkner The Paciello Group contact: [email protected]

lukeslp/awesome-accessibility

Curated list of accessibility resources, tools, and best practices for creating inclusive digital experiences