Walk in someone's shoes

Software that reads a computer screen aloud works fine when a document is built as actual digital text. But many forms arrive as scanned pages - basically a photo. The computer sees a picture, not words, so the software goes silent and the workarounds begin. And then there's signing: placing a pen on a line you can't see, using a physical frame to find where your signature is supposed to go.

Watch

First-hand perspectives

People living with blindness share how it shapes paperwork.

  • Guide Dogs

    Reading inaccessible documents with a screen reader

    Cerys demonstrates the OCR and image-detection workarounds she uses when a PDF isn't accessible.

    Reading inaccessible documents with a screen reader

  • Natasha Caudill

    How blind people sign documents

    Natasha demonstrates the signature guide she uses to sign documents when she can't see the line.

    How blind people sign documents