Browsing the web can be a very inconsistent experience for anyone, but when you’re a person with disabilities, those minor inconveniences might actually become massive barriers.

Today we are going to look at tool that is designed to make reading on the web much easier for persons with disabilities, students, and essentially anyone else who reads content online. Helperbird is an accessible reading and writing toolbar that functions as an extension to virtually any browser. The app offers a variety of reading features including Reading Mode, Immersive Reader, Highlight Menu, and more. It also allows you to tweak and customize the look of the content you are reading, from fonts, to colors, to spacing, borders, and more.

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Today we going to look at something a bit different. Rather than our usual app review, we are going to look at a piece of hardware which has a ton of potential to be used as AT, even though it wasn’t originally designed as such.

The Stream Deck is a PC accessory that gives users an array of extra buttons that can be programmed to do virtually anything you want. Originally designed for streamers and YouTubers, this device can be used to automate virtually any task, which means it has a ton of potential for persons with physical disabilities.

And because this device was designed for a mainstream audience, the price is very reasonable with the smallest version of the device costing just over a $100 for an eight-button controller.

For example, you could program one button to turn on your computer, open teams, and open a word doc. That’s just one of many examples. A button could also be used to toggle accessibility features such as Read Aloud, or to pull up all accessibility settings. The possibilities are endless.

The programming interface is easy to use, and it gives you a lot of flexibility in how you program your buttons. Additionally, Stream Deck uses a series of built-in and downloadable plugins to enhance the user’s experience. Some examples of free plug-ins include Control Center, Win Tools, YouTube, and much more. These plugins are easy to access directly from the Stream Deck interface, or you can browse the available plugins here.

The Stream Deck also allows users to create and save profiles, which is great for multi-user integration, or for people who simply want more control over their device. It also allows users to save specific presets, for example, you could set up a specific audio preset just for listening to podcasts, or for having content read aloud.

With all that in mind, we can see that the utility of this device as a piece of assistive technology is virtually endless and is only limited by the imagination of the user. That being said, the Stream Deck is currently only available for Windows or Mac users, but hopefully we will see mobile versions of this device become available over time.

This post originally appeared on the AT Help Desk website.

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Yong Dan works as a Store Associate for a retail store. Her duties include greeting customers, working the cash register, restocking and organizing merchandise, and resolving customer complaints. She has hearing loss.

Through WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, she was able to receive funding for a new set of hearing aids.

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Anthony works for a non-profit that provides housing and shelter for people in need. At the building he works at, his many duties include helping clients with their daily tasks, security, dealing with conflicts, as well as answering phones. He has hearing loss, which can make it difficult to hear conversations.

For his hearing loss, he had hearing aids, however, they no longer worked as well as he needed them to. His audiologist referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for help purchasing new ones.

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On this episode, the AT Help Desk team are joined by accessibility expert Dawn Campbell, who works as a business development manager for Accessibil-IT. We’re going to get into web and digital document accessibility, exploring what document accessibility is, its history, why document accessibility is important, and where you can get help.

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Sara works as a brand ambassador in gig-based promotional activations. She has autism and ADHD, and part-time roles allow her to be involved in the community, while also having time to recover and avoid burnout.

“I experience challenges such as sensory sensitivities to sound, the need for specific and structured tasks, and time to decompress after social activities to avoid overstimulation,” she shares. “These factors can make traditional work environments overwhelming, so I focus on roles that allow me to work independently on focused, repetitive tasks which align with my strengths.”

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Joanne is employed by a regional health authority, performing clerical and timekeeping processes. Her job involves working with many different departments.

“Over the last year, I developed a gradual hearing loss in both ears,” she shares. “This became noticeable when I had to ask colleagues to repeat themselves or I unintentionally didn’t respond to them. This affects communication and understanding as one of my duties is to interact with colleagues and employees and participate in meetings.”

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Writing Apps have evolved a lot over the past decade. Where previous apps tended to focus on one area of difficulty, most modern writing apps now offer a suite of functions designed to bolster your writing from start to finish. DocsPlus very much fits into the latter category, offering writing support from first draft to polished final product. Let’s take a closer look at these tools and how they could be useful for struggling writers.

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Mandy is self-employed, owning a residential duct cleaning business with her husband. She has hearing loss, and her audiologist referred her to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services.

“I received funding towards [the] cost of hearing aids,” she shares.

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Dawn is a bookkeeper, having worked for the same employer for 15 years. She has Inclusion Body Myositis, an inflammatory muscle disease. She is losing the grip strength in her hands, has weakness in her legs, and has significant fatigue. This makes her job much harder, particularly because it involves a lot of typing, and affects her ability to get to and from work.

After learning about WorkBC Assistive Technology Services online, Dawn decided to apply for help. She received an ergonomic and assistive technology assessment to find assistive technology solutions to help her both in the office and to allow her to work from home.

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