Digital accessibility: Adjust your device

• Touch the screen to hear what is under your finger
• Speak commands and dictate comments with hands-free voice control and Siri-like assistants
• Take notes by voice recording and assign appointments via calendar app
• Synchronize with your work computer for convenience
• Use speech synthesis and vibrations for feedback on what is happening

Screen magnifiers

• Magnify part of the screen to read the content if you have low vision
• Magnify the whole screen or zoom in on an area in a separate window while keeping the rest of the screen at its original size

Speech synthesis

Useful if you have problems reading content off screen as well as for doing something else while listening

• Select parts of the screen or the whole page and have it read it back aloud
• Adjust the voice’s dialect and speaking rate and have words highlighted as they are being read

Speech recognition

• Your voice is recognised allowing words and numbers to be converted into text and entered in text fields
• You can also ask questions that the system will try to answer, send messages, place phone calls, and schedule meetings - all with just the use of your voice

Font adjustments

• Your voice is recognised allowing words and numbers to be converted into text and entered in text fields
• You can also ask questions that the system will try to answer, send messages, place phone calls, and schedule meetings - all with just the use of your voice

Greyscale and inverted colours / high contrast mode

• Higher contrast or a lack of colour can help you see displays better
• High contrast between the text colour and the background can also help with low vision or poor visual focus

A screen reader is a technology that helps people who have difficulties seeing to access and interact with digital content, like websites or applications via audio or touch. The main users of screen readers are people who are blind or have very limited vision.

JAWS

JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is a desktop screen reader for Windows and works well with Internet Explorer, Chrome or FireFox browsers. This is a paid-for screen reader but you can download a JAWS trial which will run for 40 minutes.

NVDA

NVDA (Non Visual Desktop Access) is a free, open source screen reader for Windows computers. It works well with all popular browsers.

For practical information in Dutch on using the accessibility features of your device related to a visual impairment see the Visio Kennisportal themes for PC & laptop, Tablet and Smartphone.

• Double tap to move around or activate features - to explore the screen
• Synchronize with your work computer for convenience

Video call

• Capture gesture and facial expressions to help understand a conversation
• Communication with sign language is also possible

Visible and vibrating alerts

• Alerts for incoming phone calls and messages are ideal for people who have hearing problems

These tools may help with cognitive skills:

• Alarms, timers and calendars for time keeping
• Different colour settings for visual stress issues

Other features that can be used:

• Speech Recognition: to operate a mobile device, make calls, find numbers
• Dictate text into browsers to search or write messages
• Text Replacement shortcuts for frequently used phrases, allows you to type less

Gesture replacement

• Replace certain gestures like a pinch or a swipe on a mobile device with a single tap

Touch configuration

• Adjust how long to touch the screen until an action is recognised
• Indicate repeated touches that should be ignored, for instance, if you have a trembling hand
• Put your finger anywhere on the screen and move around, without mistakenly performing other actions
• Switch access scanning allows you to use a mobile device with only one switch
• Move in order over each item on the screen and when you want to perform an action or touch an icon - simply press the switch. This allows very complex interaction with a single switch alone