This information is provided by disability.gov

Accessibility Options

According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), “Web accessibility” means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute to the Web. W3C also states that Web accessibility should consider all disabilities that affect access to the Web, such as visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive and neurological disabilities. Usability means how easy something is to learn and use.

There are a number of ways that people with disabilities can change settings on their computer, smartphone/tablet and browsers to make the Internet more accessible and usable for themselves and others. Many operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac, and browsers, such as Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, have accessibility settings that allow users to change background colors, as well as text and icon sizes; choose a preferred font; magnify computer screens; use screen readers or “text to speech” applications, and more.

The following information can be used not only to improve and personalize your experience on Disability.gov, but also on other websites you visit.

Operating Systems

Learn more about built in accessibility options based on the device you’re using. Select your operating system below to view more accessibility options.

Microsoft

(How to find which version of Windows you have on your computer: click your Start Menu, then click “Computer”, and then click “Properties”. A window should open with information about your computer and the Windows operating system it’s currently running.)

• Windows 8
• Windows 7
• Windows Vista

Apple Mac OS X

(For information on Mac OS 8 or 9, visit www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/archive/mac/seeing/text/os/text_os9.shtml.)

• For people with vision impairments
• For people with hearing impairments
• For people with physical disabilities or motor skills impairments
• For people with learning disabilities

Mobile Devices

To learn about “built-in” accessibility options available on your mobile device or tablet, select the appropriate link.

• IOS Devices: iPhone/iPads
• Android Devices — (You may also find TechRepublic‘s article on Android Accessibility Options for People Who Are Blind or Hard-of-Hearing helpful.)
• BlackBerry Devices
• Windows Devices

Browsers

To learn about accessibility options available on various browsers, select the link to the browser you like to use.

• Internet Explorer (IE)
• Mozilla Firefox
• Google Chrome — information for people who are blind or low vision. (Read the section titled, “Chrome Browser.”)
• Safari

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