Tools for Children Who Are Blind or Low Vision to Access Electronic Information

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So much of the information that we receive these days is obtained through the computer. Assistive technology tools are available to help people who are blind or low vision access the information on computers.

Screen Magnification Software

There are a variety of special software programs that allow an individual to magnify what is shown on the computer screen. Most of these programs allow users to

  • increase the size of the image,
  • change the color of the background and the text,
  • select enlarged or different color cursors and arrows, and
  • have the computer speak the text in addition to enlarging it.

Screen magnification software can be challenging for some individuals with low vision. For example, enlarging an image means that some of it will no longer be viewable on the screen. Also, the image may appear jumpy or highly pixelated, which can be distracting to some users with low vision.

Screen Reading Software

The use of screen reading software enables a user to hear the text that is displayed on the computer’s monitor. These programs use a sound card in the computer to produce the speech that can be heard through speakers or headphones. The user controls the screen reading technology through the keyboard commands that tell the program what information on the screen to read aloud and to control how it is read.

One of the biggest challenges of using screen reading software is how it will handle pictures or other graphics. With each new version of these programs, the way they handle visual information continues to improve.

Refreshable Braille Displays

A refreshable braille display allows the user to feel a braille representation of the text that is on the computer screen. The display consists of plastic pins that are raised and lowered to form the corresponding braille characters as the cursor moves across the print on the screen. Braille displays are typically 20, 40, or 80 braille cells in length. Braille displays must be used in combination with screen reading software.

The Monarch

Monarch has the potential to support many skills within assistive technology, independence, braille, tactile graphic literacy, and many more. Here are a few examples:

  • Braille literacy: Students may test below grade level when it comes to reading fluency due to the limitation of reading single-line braille. The Monarch has the potential to support students using both hands to increase how many words per minute they can read.
  • Independence: Students will have the opportunity to learn and develop skills needed to access tactile graphics, adjust to changes in real-time as their instruction changes, and the ability to share digital information with their teachers.
  • Math skills: Students have the potential to work through their math skills in uncontracted, contracted Nemeth or UEB math allowing them to choose their preferred format. The graphing scientific calculator will allow a student to graph tactile functions on demand as well as the potential ability to share the file, in print, with their teacher.

As the Monarch continues it’s metamorphosis, it is key to stay up to date on new skills and updates to this revolutionary product.

Accessible PDAs

An accessible personal digital assistant (PDA) is a combination of a computer and a mainstream PDA. (You may also hear them referred to as electronic notetakers, but they have many more functions than just taking notes.) With these versatile tools, your child can keep an address book and calendar, use a stopwatch, word process, surf the Internet, and send email. Some even have a GPS (global positioning satellite) system that will assist your child in knowing their location during travel.

Accessible PDAs can have either a braille keyboard or a QWERTY (standard) computer keyboard. They may also come with a refreshable braille display so that your child can read the braille as they listen to the text that the cursor is passing over. Users can download e-books (electronic texts) to their PDA to listen to or read using the refreshable braille display. Using a cable or infrared connection, a user can print out material in either print or braille. With a flash card, the user can move files from the PDA to a computer.