Level Access

Author: Level Access

Assistive technology is any product, device, or software that helps people with disabilities complete daily tasks. Examples include screen readers, magnifiers, and voice control.

The people who visit your website engage with it in many different ways. Some use a mouse or trackpad. Others navigate with the keyboard only. And others rely on assistive technology, such as a screen reader, a braille display, a switch, or voice control. If your site doesn’t work with those tools, it doesn’t work for a large share of the people trying to use it.

More than 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products today, and that number is expected to reach 3.5 billion by 2050, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). (This figure includes physical products, such as eyeglasses, as well as digital assistive technologies.) Not every person with a disability uses assistive technology, but for many, it’s essential to how they shop, bank, learn, apply for jobs, and get work done online.

So what exactly counts as assistive technology? Which assistive technologies do people use most frequently with digital products? And how can you provide a barrier-free web experience for visitors who rely on these tools? We’ll answer these and more questions in this blog.

Key insights

  • Assistive technology includes any product, device, or software that helps people with disabilities, from low-tech tools like pencil grips to high-tech tools like screen readers and eye-tracking systems.
  • Some assistive technologies are built into digital platforms and devices, alongside accessibility features like larger text and increased contrast settings. Others are third-party products.
  • Digital assistive technology supports users with a wide range of access needs, including vision, hearing, mobility and dexterity, cognitive and learning disabilities, and speech and communication.
  • Whether assistive technology works can depend on your code. Screen readers, voice control, and switch devices rely on semantic HTML and the information browsers pass to them through the accessibility tree.
  • Conforming to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA, at minimum, is a strong foundation for supporting a broad range of assistive technologies.
  • Automated scans can’t confirm assistive technology compatibility on their own. Manual testing with real assistive technology and user testing by people with disabilities surfaces issues automation alone can’t.

What is assistive technology?

Assistive technology (AT) is an umbrella term for the products, devices, and software that help people with disabilities maintain or improve how they function in daily life. Because just about any kind of technology can serve this purpose, in many ways, assistive technology is simply technology.

In its definition of this term, the WHO also includes the systems and services around those products. That means assistive technology isn’t just the tool itself. It’s also the support that helps someone choose, set up, and use it.

Assistive, adaptive, and accessible technology

These three terms are sometimes used interchangeably, so it’s worth clarifying some distinctions in context and meaning.

Assistive technology is any tool that helps a person with a disability complete a task or interact with digital content and products. Historically, assistive technology was commonly referred to as adaptive technology or adaptive devices.

Accessible technology is mainstream technology designed so everyone can use it, including people who rely on assistive technology. An accessible website is one that works with the assistive technology its visitors use, while also meeting the needs of users with disabilities who don’t rely on assistive technology.

Meanwhile, accessibility features are built-in features of a website, app, or other digital platform that allow a user’s preferences to be applied to a user interface. Examples of accessibility features include user preferences for color and contrast, or options to adjust font style, size, and spacing.

Who uses assistive technology?

Assistive technology isn’t just used by people with permanent disabilities. Someone recovering from a wrist injury may switch to voice dictation for a few weeks. An older adult may turn on screen magnification as their vision changes. A parent holding a child may use voice commands to send a message.

Many assistive technologies, like screen magnification and dictation, now come built into every major operating system, and browsers add their own display options like zoom. That means more of your visitors use these tools than you might expect. The broad usage of these tools is one reason many people argue that assistive technology is simply technology.

Types of assistive technology and accessibility features for different access needs

Assistive technology is a broad category that includes physical products—such as wheelchairs, walkers, prosthetics, and hearing aids—as well as digital tools. This guide focuses on the digital side: the technologies people use to access websites, apps, documents, and software. We’ll also discuss accessibility features, which are features built into digital platforms and content to support users’ access needs.

Here’s how the main types of digital assistive technology and related accessibility features break down by access need:

Access need Who it helps Common types and examples How it works with digital content
Vision People with visual disabilities, including blindness and low vision Screen readers, refreshable braille displays, screen magnifiers, user preferences for color and contrast (including high-contrast modes) Screen readers and braille displays convert text and page structure into speech or braille. Magnification software enlarges a portion of the screen at a time. User preferences for color and contrast allow users to adjust the color and contrast of displayed content.
Hearing People who are deaf or hard of hearing Captions, transcripts, hearing aids, assistive listening devices Captions and transcripts provide text equivalents to video and audio content. Hearing aids and assistive listening devices improve access to useful auditory information.
Mobility and dexterity People with limited mobility or dexterity Adaptive keyboards, switch devices, voice control, eye tracking, alternative pointing devices Replaces pointer input, such as a mouse, with keys, switches, speech, or eye movement
Cognitive and learning People with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, and people with cognitive disabilities Text-to-speech, reading tools, word prediction, distraction-reduction tools Reads text aloud, adjusts how text is displayed, or supports reading and writing
Speech and communication People who are unable to speak or have speech disabilities Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and apps, speech-generating devices Turns symbols or text into synthesized speech and can also control a device

Low-tech, mid-tech, and high-tech assistive technology

Educators and assistive technology specialists also group tools by complexity:

  • Low-tech: Simple tools with no power source, such as pencil grips, magnifying glasses, and picture boards.
  • Mid-tech: Battery-powered or basic electronic tools, such as talking calculators and simple speech-generating devices.
  • High-tech: Computer-based tools, such as screen readers, eye-tracking systems, and advanced AAC apps.

Most of the assistive technology that interacts with your website falls into the high-tech group. We’ll explore the most common examples in the following section.

10 examples of assistive technology and accessibility features your visitors use every day

Here are the assistive technologies and accessibility features you’re most likely to encounter, along with what each one needs from your website or app.

1. Screen readers

Screen readers convert text, images, and controls into synthesized speech or braille output. Many people who are blind or have low vision rely on them. According to the WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey #11, JAWS and NVDA are the most common primary desktop screen readers (55% and 33% of respondents), while VoiceOver leads on mobile (72%). Other options include TalkBack on Android, Narrator on Windows, and ChromeVox on Chromebooks.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Keyboard interface access, headings, landmarks, text alternatives, labeled form fields, and controls that provide their name, role, and state.

2. Refreshable braille displays

Refreshable braille displays raise and lower small pins to form braille characters that present on-screen content in braille. Aside from standalone braille notetakers, most displays are controlled by a screen reader, which sends them largely the same information it provides through speech output. People who are blind or deafblind often use them alongside a screen reader, especially for detailed reading, editing, or coding.

What users of these technologies need from your site: The same accurate, programmatic information that screen reader users need, since the screen reader powers the braille display. However, braille displays may require an even higher level of accuracy: for example, text spelled phonetically so that a screen reader pronounces it correctly will show up misspelled in braille.

3. Screen magnifiers and browser zoom

Screen magnifiers enlarge part or all of the screen, often with color and contrast adjustments. People with low vision may use dedicated magnification software or built-in tools such as Windows Magnifier and Zoom on macOS and iOS. Many also use browser zoom, larger text settings, or other display settings distinct from screen magnification.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Because screen magnification software works at the operating system level, it doesn’t need much from your website. However, magnification users benefit from labels that are close to form fields, and elements being placed consistently across pages. People who use browser zoom, larger text, or other display preferences benefit from layouts that reflow without horizontal scrolling, text that resizes without breaking, and sufficient color contrast.

4. Text-to-speech and reading tools

Text-to-speech tools read digital text aloud, often highlighting each word as it’s spoken. People with dyslexia and other learning disabilities use them to support reading and comprehension. Many reading tools also let people change fonts, spacing, and background colors.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Real text instead of images of text, a logical reading order, and content that remains readable when people adjust text spacing.

5. Speech recognition and voice control

Speech recognition software lets people dictate text and control a device by voice. People with limited mobility or dexterity often rely on it, as do people with repetitive strain injuries. Common options include Voice access on Windows 11, which replaced Windows Speech Recognition, Voice Control on Apple devices, and Voice Access on Android.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Accessible names that include each control’s visible label, ideally at the start, so a spoken command like “click Submit” activates the right button. In addition to correct names, voice users also need proper roles, values, and states, and single-character keyboard shortcuts that can be turned off or remapped so stray speech doesn’t trigger them.

6. Keyboard-only navigation and switch access

Many people navigate entirely with a keyboard, using Tab, Shift+Tab, the arrow keys, and Enter. While keyboard navigation on its own isn’t considered assistive technology, providing keyboard interface access is vital for users of many assistive technologies, including screen readers and voice control.

Other users rely on switch devices, which are buttons activated by a hand, foot, head, or breath, to scan through options and select one. Switch Control on iOS and Switch Access on Android build this capability into mobile devices.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Interactive elements that are reachable and operable by keyboard, a logical focus order, a clear focus indicator, and no keyboard traps.

7. Alternative keyboards and pointing devices

Alternative keyboards include large-key, one-handed, and on-screen keyboards. Alternative pointing devices include trackballs, head pointers, and mouth-operated joysticks. People with limited mobility or dexterity choose the setup that fits how they move.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Full keyboard support, plus targets large enough to activate easily, no reliance on precise movements like dragging, and simple alternatives for complex gestures. These practices also help a broad range of users with disabilities, including those who don’t use assistive technology at all.

8. Eye-tracking systems

Eye-tracking systems use a camera to follow eye movement, then let people select items by dwelling on them or blinking. Some people with mobility disabilities use eye tracking to operate computers and AAC devices.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Large, well-spaced targets and time limits that people can extend or turn off.

9. Captions and assistive listening

Captions and transcripts are accessibility features that make audio and video content available to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. They’re also used by a much broader range of people to support comprehension and access content when audio isn’t practical, like in a noisy space or with audio muted.

Some people also use hearing aids, cochlear implants, or assistive listening devices that stream audio directly from a phone or computer.

What users of these technologies need from your site: Accurate captions for prerecorded and live media, transcripts for audio-only content, and media players whose controls work with a keyboard and screen reader.

10. Augmentative and alternative communication devices

AAC devices and apps help people who are unable to speak, or who have speech disabilities, communicate using symbols, text, or synthesized speech. Some AAC devices also let people browse the web and use apps.

What users of these technologies need from your site: The same keyboard, switch, and eye-tracking support described above.

How to make your website compatible with assistive technology

Many assistive technologies, including screen readers and voice control, don’t interact with your page’s design. They interact with the information your code exposes. This doesn’t diminish the need for accessible design, but it does underscore the importance of building your website in alignment with accessibility best practices.

When a browser loads a page, it builds an accessibility tree: a version of the page that passes each element’s name, role, state, and value to assistive technology. When that information is missing or wrong, tools can’t do their job reliably.

So, making your website compatible with assistive technology starts with ensuring that every tool gets accurate information in the accessibility tree. Here’s what that means in practice:

  • Native HTML comes first: Elements like buttons, links, navigation regions, and form labels come with built-in roles, names, and keyboard behavior. Use them before building anything custom.
  • ARIA fills gaps but shouldn’t replace HTML: Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes can describe custom widgets that HTML can’t, but incorrect ARIA can make an experience harder to use than no ARIA at all.
  • Provide logical focus order and reading order: Focus order is the sequence keyboard users move through interactive elements. Reading order is the sequence a screen reader follows through all content. Both should follow a logical order that preserves meaning and operation.
  • Meaning can’t depend on presentation alone: If color, position, or shape is the only way you communicate something, like a red outline on a field with an error, screen readers won’t announce it. Pair those cues with text.

How WCAG conformance supports assistive technology users

Many best practices for assistive technology compatibility map directly to WCAG 2.2 success criteria. The following table outlines some of the criteria that matter most for users of assistive products.

What to build WCAG 2.2 success criterion Assistive technology or feature it supports
Text alternatives for images and icons 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) Screen readers, braille displays
Captions for prerecorded video 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (Level A) Captions
Headings, lists, tables, and labels marked up in code 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) Screen readers, braille displays
Text that resizes and content that reflows 1.4.4 Resize Text and 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA) Browser zoom, reading tools
Full keyboard access 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) Screen readers, adaptive keyboards, switch devices, voice control
A logical focus order and a clear focus indicator 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A) and 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA) Screen readers, adaptive keyboards, switch devices
Accessible names that contain each control’s visible label 2.5.3 Label in Name (Level A) Voice control, screen readers
Targets that are easy to activate 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (Level AA) Alternative pointing devices, eye tracking
Names, roles, and states exposed for every component 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) Most assistive technology, including screen readers, braille displays, and voice control

What assistive technology testing should include

Automated scans are a fast way to find common issues across a large site. But a scan can’t tell you whether someone using a screen reader can complete checkout, or whether a voice command activates the right button—confirming that takes people. As Jon Avila, Chief Accessibility Officer at Level Access, put it in the Eighth Annual State of Digital Accessibility Report, “The true measure of accessibility is the experience of people with disabilities, not the output of a tool.”

Here’s how a strong testing approach comes together:

  • Automated scanning: Find common, code-level issues quickly and monitor them over time.
  • Keyboard-only testing: Move through every page and workflow without a mouse to confirm everything is reachable, operable, and in a logical order.
  • Screen reader testing: Test key workflows with common screen reader and browser pairings, such as JAWS with Chrome or Edge, NVDA with Chrome or Firefox, VoiceOver with Safari, and TalkBack with Chrome on Android.
  • Voice control and browser zoom checks: Confirm spoken commands match on-screen labels and that layouts hold up when people zoom to 200% and 400%.
  • Testing with people with disabilities: Include people who use assistive technology every day. They’ll find barriers that no checklist anticipates.
  • Validation testing: Retest after fixes to confirm each issue is resolved for the people who reported it.

Explore our guide to accessibility testing tools to learn more about how these methods fit together.

Does your site really work for every user?

The decisions you make in design and code can make or break the experience for users of assistive technologies. And without reliable testing, it can be hard to know where barriers lie, and how to fix them.

Level Access audits combine the speed of automation with manual evaluation by experts, including people who use assistive technology every day, so you get a complete understanding of your site’s accessibility. We’ll also provide the context you need to swiftly prioritize and address any issues identified. Request an accessibility audit today to get started.

Frequently asked questions

What are five examples of assistive technology?

Screen readers, refreshable braille displays, screen magnifiers, speech recognition software, and switch devices are five common examples. Each one helps people with disabilities use computers, phones, and the web. Other examples include captions, eye-tracking systems, and AAC devices.

These terms are used interchangeably, but assistive technology is the more widely recognized term today. It refers to any tool that helps a person with a disability complete a task or interact with digital content and products. Historically, assistive technology was commonly referred to as adaptive technology or adaptive devices.

It can be either, and many setups combine both. Braille displays, switches, and alternative keyboards are hardware. Screen readers, magnifiers, and voice control are software. A braille display is typically driven by a screen reader.

Cost, setup, and the time it takes to learn a new tool are common challenges for users. Compatibility is another. Assistive technology only works as well as the content it interacts with, so a site without labels or keyboard support can block even the best tools.

Start with semantic HTML, full keyboard interface access, text alternatives, captions, and accessible names that contain each control’s visible label. Conforming to WCAG 2.2 Level AA helps cover these requirements. Then test with real assistive technology and with people with disabilities to confirm everything works.

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