Assistive Technology That's Already On Your Computer

There are many universal design features and accessibility features that are provided in the operating systems of a computer due to the UDL principle of flexibility in use. These features are designed to allow the computer and its features to be accessed by as many people as possible and to reduce barriers that students with disabilities may face. These operating systems provide services and features to meet specific needs of students, including the option of using a keyboard instead of a mouse, using keyboard shortcuts, speech recognition for having the computers controlled by voice, enlarging the size of icons, using text-to-speech, allowing for various mouse structures, and adjusting the user’s pace and keyboard repeat rate. Keyboard modifications and adaptation of the user’s pace and keyboard repeat rate are great for students who have fine motor difficulties, limited range of motion, etc. Speech recognition features aid students with a variety of difficulties such as fatigue, and vision impairment. Built in text to speech applications are especially useful for students with reading disabilities and attention deficits. These features, amongst many other features that computers offer, are very useful to meet the diverse needs of our students.