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Other Assistive Technologies

Other Assistive Technologies and Content Types

Assistive Technologies aren’t limited to screen readers! There are many other assistive devices and types of accessible content that help people interface with their computers and mobile devices in ways that suit their needs.

Eyeglasses and wheelchairs could also be considered an assistive devices.

Some of the other major categories of digital Assistive Technologies include (and are not limited to):

Braille displays

A refreshable braille display or braille terminal is an electro-mechanical device for displaying braille characters, usually by means of round-tipped pins raised through holes in a flat surface. Visually impaired computer users who cannot use a standard computer monitor can use it to read text output.

Speech recognition and voice control

Speech recognition is about recognizing words for speech-to-text (STT) transcription, virtual assistants, and other speech user interfaces. There has been a significant rise in STT technology in recent years, which shows how useful assistive tech can be to the general public.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking (opens in a new tab) is one popular platform for voice navigation that relies on STT transcription.

Apple has also put out Voice Control (opens in a new tab) for iOS and OSX.

Switch devices

Switch access helps people with limited mobility interact with their mobile device or computer. Often, a hardware device is added to a mobile phone to provide a limited number of keys. Software on the device can also enable special functions to scan through content using those keys.

Screen magnification

Zoom and screen magnification can be really helpful for many people of all age groups. Screen magnification is built into many platforms including iOS, OSX, and Windows 10. There are also third-party software applications such as ZoomText (opens in a new tab) that act as Assistive Technologies that people have come to rely on.

There are also other formats of accessible content that are worth mentioning:

Transcripts and Closed Captions

For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, text alternatives like closed captions and transcripts (opens in a new tab) are critical pieces of communication. They are also outlined in WCAG and related documents (opens in a new tab).

Closed captions are a specific type of time-based format where text accompanies a live or pre-recorded video or audio track. For live captions, a captioning service or automated caption software will capture who is speaking and whatever else can be heard (though beware of what we call “craptions” where quality is poor).

Transcripts are typically a text based version of an audio or video track on a webpage near the audio/video player. Adding a transcript allows also even more people to access your video content when they can’t use your captions, including those using assistive technology like screen readers and those who don’t have time to watch the full video.

Audio Descriptions (AD)

Audio description is like alternative text for video. It’s a narrative explanation of visual or non-verbal information. This is essential for people with visual impairments who may otherwise miss out on important information.

Audio description is becoming more common, and it’s part of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (opens in a new tab). You might even find audio descriptions available on some of your favorite shows on Netflix (opens in a new tab) or other platforms.

Alternative TextExercise 1 - Test with a Screen Reader