Using Screen Readers to Experience the Web - Contra Costa Health Services

If you or someone you know has difficulty seeing or reading, you should investigate software which is able to translate websites into audible speech. The Contra Costa Health Services website has been designed from the ground up to be compatible with these readers, for the benefit of those with vision impairments, dyslexia, or others who read with difficulty.

Aural Browsers for Windows

There are several programs which may be used to experience the web through audio.

Mozilla Firefox with Fire Vox

Firefox is one of the web's most popular browsers, and it comes with powerful accessibility feature built-in. With the free Fire Vox extension, it is capable of reading most websites aloud using a digital voice.

- Firefox - Free download site.

- Fire Vox screen reader extension — A free addition to Firefox that turns it into a high quality, customizable screen reader. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

- AccessFirefox.org - A valuable resource for Firefox extensions and themes that support many types of accessibility.

pwWebSpeak

This program is one of the easiest-to-use solutions. It loads websites and then displays them on the screen in a text-only format, highlighting the text as it reads it aloud (see illustration). The size of the font on the screen, the style and speed of the voice can all be adjusted by the user. All navigation may be handled through the keyboard. English is the only language it supports.

- More about pwWebSpeak Plus 3.0.48 for Windows 95/98/ME, NT, 2000, & XP

Freedom Scientific JAWS 5.0

JAWS, like Home Page Reader, uses Internet Explorer as its basis and then reads the page using a computer-generated voice. It supports many languages, including various dialects of English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. JAWS also has features designed for Braille readers.

- More about JAWS 5.0 for Windows 95/98/ME, NT, 2000, & XP

Aural Browsers for Macintosh

Apple includes a feature called VoiceOver into its Tiger operating system. Several of Apple's applications have been adapted for VoiceOver, including the Safari web browser.

VoiceOver provides complete access to the computer and compliant applications through speech, audible cues, and keyboard navigation. Apple users with low-vision or other disabilities will not need to purchase additional third-party software in order to use the web.

The illustration shows a configuration screen for this new feature. See the Apple website for more information.

Aural Browsers for Linux

Emacspeak

Emacspeak is a voice-based desktop interface for Linux which has excellent World Wide Web support and is fully compatible with the Aural Cascading Style Sheet 2.0 standard. Its installation process is complex and is recommended only for advanced users of the Linux operating system.

- More about Emacspeak 19.0 for Linux

If you have any additional need for technical support, please contact us for assistance.