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5 tech tools that kids with CVI use for auditory access
Discover popular auditory tech tools for children with CVI: From text-to-speech technology to AI, these tools support independence and access to the world.
Kids with CVI rely on accessible and assistive tech to improve their access to the world. My daughter Grace, who has CVI, benefits daily from text-to-speech technology, auditory descriptions and artificial intelligence, all of which capitalize on her auditory strengths and provide support as she gains independence. Here are five of her favorites.
1. Voice Dream and Bookshare
During the COVID lockdown and social distancing, Grace became increasingly engrossed in audiobooks. She has always loved listening to stories but struggled with the fatigue of reading print. Over time, Grace gradually increased her listening rate. She’s now in middle school and can read several books a day.
None of this would have been possible without the Voice Dream/Bookshare interface. Grace has the Voice Dream package of apps on her phone. This package can do many things, but she primarily uses it to listen to books. She loves that she can select the voice of her choice and adjust the speed setting.
Voice Dream is connected to her Bookshare account. Anyone with a visual impairment, dyslexia, or reading barrier can get a free account to the service, which has an exhaustive list of titles. There have only been a handful of times that Grace could not find the book she wanted, usually because it is out of print.
Grace opens Voice Dream and clicks the plus icon to select Bookshare from the list. This takes her to a search bar where she voice types a keyword, book title or author name. Then she turns on VoiceOver (using the voice assistant on her phone) to read the list of books. Then it’s as easy as selecting the book and downloading it to her library queue.
- Open Voice Dream and select + icon.
- Select Bookshare.
- Voice type in the search bar.
- Turn on VoiceOver (the iPhone screen reader) to read the list of books.
- Download a book with the cloud and arrow icon.
- Enjoy!
These programs have been life-changing for her. Grace joined her middle school’s Battle of the Books team last year. She read (and re-read) the required books until she absorbed all the trivia she needed to win points for her team.
“I didn’t have to drive my mom crazy asking her to read the books over and over again to me so I could memorize every detail!” Grace jokes. “I also could listen to the books a lot faster (about 640 wpm), which allowed me to listen to them more times.”
(For the record, I love reading to Grace, but she says I’m much too slow.)
2. JAWS
I once attempted a professional class on JAWS website testing. I was unprepared, to put it mildly. I’ve watched Grace’s training with the JAWS screen reader progress from reading text word by word to navigating full documents and now, learning to conduct internet research.
JAWS is not the only screen reader available. There are other options to consider, like NVDA and ChromeVox. Grace takes courses from eye.t and California School for the Blind (CSB), which provide training for several screen reader programs. I’m thankful for the instruction because it has made a notable difference in her energy levels throughout the day.
“It helps because I don’t have to read,” Grace explains. “Reading is so fatiguing for me that it wouldn’t be reasonable to do it all day, every day for classes. Using a screen reader is my best option.
“After school, I feel tired and I need a break before I can do my homework, but it was a lot worse before I started my assistive technology practice. Before I started using a screen reader at school, I couldn’t really do much in the afternoons. Now I am in an after-school choir, piano (where I read large print music), and a Battle of the Books team.
“I have energy for this because I’ve learned to check in with myself and ask for breaks when I need them and because I’m not looking at text all the time like I used to.”
Grace lets different senses take the lead, depending on the task and environmental factors. She relies on her screen reader when there’s a lot of text. This allows her to conserve her visual battery for classes with more visual materials, like adapted graphs, maps, and diagrams.
Occasionally, Grace tries to teach me a few keyboard commands to no avail. Her advice for someone just starting to use a screen reader? “Take it in small chunks and don’t expect to be perfect immediately, just like anything. It’s really hard to memorize all the keyboard commands, so try to learn the patterns instead.”
3. VoiceOver
We allowed Grace an iPhone at an earlier age than we would have if she had not needed it for schoolwork and information access. It’s been a good decision for her, though I understand there is research out recommending later phone adoption for kids (not considering a child’s visual impairments, however).
Like the digital native she is, Grace continues to teach herself to navigate the phone’s functionality, including VoiceOver. She also receives training at school through the CSB screen reader course. She uses the VoiceOver practice mode on the iPhone for additional exercises (Found under Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver. Turn on VoiceOver and select VoiceOver Practice).
“VoiceOver practice gives you random commands and it tells you what they do,” says Grace. “And I ask my friends how to use commands too.”
Grace asks Siri to “turn VoiceOver on,” and then uses the feature to read relevant text on her screen. When she’s done, Siri helps her turn it off. While some people will choose to use VoiceOver the entire time they are on the phone, Grace toggles between VoiceOver and a zoomed-in screen. Again, it is all a personal choice. She jokes that her goal is “trying to use my vision whenever I can and trying not to read whenever I can.”
4. Audio description
When our family seeks entertainment, one of our priorities is to select activities that include Grace through rich description paired with up-close, hands-on experience, when appropriate. Audio description services – whether live or recorded – are valuable to Grace. The quality of pre-recorded audio descriptions varies and I’m sure the end users’ opinions on what makes for a good description do, too. At the movies or theater, Grace prefers a lot of description, especially notes about when the scene changes and who is speaking (so long as it does not obscure the dialogue or music). This is harder to achieve when a show is action-packed or reliant on slapstick humor.
Last December we visited Washington, DC, to see Grace’s cousin perform in the Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Because the story is conveyed entirely through music and dance, this outing is not inherently accessible. However, several things fell into place to make it one of the most magical evenings we’ve had as a family. This is an example of an exceptional level of accommodation but demonstrates how some entertainment venues get creative to make their offerings accessible.
- Grace is deeply familiar with the story and the music because she lives with a ballet lover and former Nutcracker performer (me!). Had she not known this ballet so well, we would have shared the plot and soundtrack beforehand.
- We reached out to the box office to request accessible seating arrangements. They graciously accommodated our need for front-row seating.
- We contacted a local audio description provider. Though the organization had not worked with the venue before, they were enthusiastic about offering listener services. Metropolitan Washington Ear knew the ideal person to describe the ballet and connected with the venue’s production team to explain the technical requirements.
- The Washington Ballet offered Grace a backstage tour. This was the most beautiful idea. We saw the set, props and costumes and listened to descriptions directly from the stage crew. The audio describer also joined us so that she could use the same terminology to describe the production elements. Grace received a signed pointe shoe from the Sugarplum Fairy and the rare chance to ask questions and explore at her own pace.
Grace has also tried:
- GalaPro is an app with audio descriptions of Broadway and touring productions. It’s simple because you only need your phone, headphones and the correct Wi-Fi information for the theater. Find the venue and show in the app and tune in.
- The Disney audio description headset describes some of the rides and productions in the parks. You can get one by registering for Disability Access Services and visiting the customer service desk on the way into the park. The map will show which experiences offer descriptions.
- Audio description tracks for movies. When we are at home, we only select movies or TV shows with an audio description track. I like the descriptions so much that I leave them on all the time. I usually check The Audio Description Project list curated by the American Council of the Blind to narrow our search. Grace has also had a good experience with the audio description headsets offered at the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater.
- Museum docents who provide a tailored tour. I’ve had luck pre-arranging tours at the NYC Museum of Natural History and the North Carolina Aquarium, for example. Some locations will have a formal program for disability access. Others may create something that suits your needs. For example, we took Grace to the NC Aquarium for her 10th birthday. I contacted guest services and they quickly replied that they could give our family a tour, focusing on the tactile exhibits and brightly lit tanks. When we arrived, I asked how many of these tours they give each year and they replied that ours was the first! By asking for what you need, you may plant the seed for another child to enjoy the experience later.
5. Seeing AI
Seeing AI is an app that can read print, describe images and scenery, and identify products. Artificial intelligence (including image recognition) holds great promise for people with visual impairments. This app continues to evolve as the science is rapidly developing.
“I used Seeing AI recently to read The Disability Experience by Hannalora Leavitt,” Grace remembers. “I used it to read the book page by page. It takes a little longer, but it allows me to read a book off the shelf or to satisfy the urge to read a regular print book.”
Seeing AI is also useful for:
- Reading restaurant menus.
- Scanning signage in the community or stores.
- Describing book images or in-person scenery (sometimes it’s wrong or funny, but the AI will improve!).
- Identifying money.
- Sifting through snail mail.
Grace recommends using Seeing AI to have fun with friends. They enjoy taking photos of each other and letting the app guess their ages.
Please remember:
This is one person’s perspective on only five auditory tools in a sea of options. Every individual accesses information using a different combination of senses and technology. Therefore, every individual will select different tools to get the job done. It’s important to note that Grace chooses to use these audio-based tools now and her menu will evolve along with her skills and technological advances.
