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Much like how a sighted person can visually skim a website to find the section they want to read, a person who is blind can do the same with their screen reader-as long as the website’s content has been coded with proper header tags.Ī braille display is a flat keyboard-like device that translates text into braille and enables blind or deaf-blind individuals to read text using their fingers.

The playback speed can be set by the user and commands allow them to skip from heading to heading, click links, and do other important tasks. A screen reader is a program that analyzes the layout and content of a website and provides a text to speech translation. Screen readers have been around for more than 30 years. For those who are blind, the main AT are screen readers, braille displays, and speech recognition software. Assistive Technology Used by Blind PeopleĪssistive technology (AT) is a broad term that refers to hardware and software that enable people with disabilities to access technology. Today, we’ll be focusing on those who require a screen reader or braille keyboard to access technology. (And they may have completely different vision in one eye than the other.) When you meet a blind person, even one who uses a guide dog or a white cane, it is unlikely that you will be able to tell where they fall on this spectrum. There are people who can see nothing (not even light) and people who are legally blind and so many variations in between. Blindness, like most disabilities, is a spectrum.
