Every day, nearly half of private households worldwide turn on a computer or similar device for work, personal use, or both. Yet 15 percent of these billions of users cannot or have great difficulty using the familiar monitor, keyboard, and mouse. To aid them, computer manufacturers have developed accessibility features, which are software and hardware specifically designed to enable ease-of-use of the device regardless of the user’s disability or impairment. 

What is Computer Accessibility?

Computer technologies that provide functional capabilities for users with disabilities fall under computer accessibility, also known as accessible computing and assistive technology. Within the software community, accessibility is abbreviated as “a11y”, a numeronym in which the number 11 indicates the number of replaced letters of the original word.  

Computer accessibility is not the same as computer usability, which people sometimes use interchangeably. “Usability” means a feature like a new menu popping up on an enterprise PC’s operating system that can be understood and operated by a computer user without assistance. 

“Accessibility” means a disabled user can access that same feature, usually through assistive software like voice command or hardware like a specialized keyboard, mouse, or mouth stick (for a user with paraplegia). 

Computer Accessibility Features

Assistive technologies can be categorized between software and hardware. 

Software 

Many software accessibility options are available through computer operating systems like Windows and macOS.  

  • Text-to-speech, or TTS, reads the text on the screen aloud to users with vision issues.
  • Display modifications range from high-contrast themes to enlarged cursors, improving the screen’s visibility and contents. 
  • Closed captioning or CC converts audio from the PC into text for users with hearing difficulties. 
  • Mono audio sends audio through both the left and right sides of earbuds and headphones simultaneously, a helpful feature for users with only good hearing through one ear. 
  • Keyboard shortcuts allow users who cannot use a mouse (for example, those with partial paralysis due to a stroke) to use the keyboard to perform everyday operations such as copying and pasting. They often work with sticky keys to press – and hold down – several keys at once to activate a shortcut.

Hardware

Hardware assistive technologies include computer hardware such as screen magnifiers, special keyboards, pointing devices like mice, and switches. 

External screen magnifiers are framed pieces of clear plastic or glass placed over the computer’s monitor or business tablet. Like magnification software, external magnifiers allow users with vision issues to magnify or zoom the content on the screen. Which is best for the user is based on their preference and impairment. 

Special or alternative keyboards are numerous, each specialized for certain forms of disability or impairment. Keyboards with larger keys are perfect for those with vision issues. Others are designed for those with fewer fingers or who can only type with one hand. Custom mice and trackballs for similar purposes are also available. 

Switch devices are input-output devices that allow people with severe movement disabilities to control switch-enabled computers. For example, the typical computer mouse would be replaced by a switch-enabled joystick, which is sensitive to the user’s slightest finger movement.

Ensuring Web Accessibility

Web accessibility refers to designing websites for users with disabilities. Given the Internet’s central role in today’s world, such access affects everything from entertainment to healthcare. Developers are encouraged to keep accessibility in mind with webpage design elements such as:

  • Ensure all images have descriptive alt tags that screen readers can read.
  • Provide strong contrast between text and background colors for the visually impaired.
  • Ensure the labels on your site are clear and that any instructions are easy to follow when read by software. 
  • The site’s web font can be resized up to 200 percent.
  • Build the entire site so it can be navigated strictly using a keyboard. 

Provide Computer Accessibility for All Your Users with Cybernet

Computer accessibility ensures that PCs and similar devices can be used effectively by users with disabilities. Computer accessibility features are numerous and range from software like text-to-speech to specialized keyboards. Given the web’s important role in today’s connected world, accessibility extends to the Internet with features like descriptive alt tags for images. 

Are you looking for suitable computers for users with some form of disability? Contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing! Our company is committed to the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), which can be seen in our All-in-One Space-Saving PC designs and numerous accessory offerings. We are also in compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act for federal employees with disabilities. 

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