Assistive technology examples: tools that make everyday access possible

A screen reader can turn a website into speech or braille. A wheelchair can make the trip across town possible. A picture board can give someone a way to say, “I want to go home.” All are examples of assistive technology, although only some need electricity.

The useful question is rarely “What is the newest device?” It is “What am I trying to do, and what is getting in the way?” A tool has to fit the person, the task and the place where it will be used. The person using it should have a say in all three.

What counts as assistive technology?

The World Health Organization uses assistive technology as an umbrella term for products and the services that help people obtain and use them. Products can support mobility, vision, hearing, communication, cognition and self-care. They range from a cane or adapted spoon to speech recognition software and a powered wheelchair.

An accessibility feature already on a phone can be assistive technology in practice. So can a simple item adapted for one person’s grip. Cost and complexity don’t determine whether it matters.

Here are ten groups of examples, organized around the barriers they address rather than a diagnosis. One person may use several, switch between them or decide that a tool isn’t right for them.

Find an example by what you need to do:

• See or read a screen: screen readers and braille displays, or magnification.
• Hear or follow speech: hearing aids, captions and listening systems.
• Communicate: communication boards and speech-generating devices.
• Use a computer or phone: alternative keyboards, switches and pointing devices.
• Read, remember or plan: text-to-speech and reminders or visual schedules.
• Move or manage daily tasks: mobility aids, adapted self-care tools and hands-free controls.

1. Screen readers and refreshable braille displays

A screen reader announces on-screen text and controls through speech, and can send information to a braille display. A blind student might use one to navigate a course page; an employee might use it to read a spreadsheet or fill in a form. A braille display offers tactile access to text when speech is unsuitable or insufficient.

The catch is that the document or website must be built accessibly. An unlabeled button or badly structured PDF can still stop someone, even with excellent software. The W3C’s guide to digital access tools makes that relationship clear.

2. Magnification and adjustable display settings

For someone with low vision, enlarging text, changing contrast or using screen magnification may make a phone or computer usable. A handheld magnifier can help with print away from a screen. Some people combine magnification with spoken output.

Start with the settings already available on the device, then test whether they still work in the apps and documents the person actually needs. Enlarged text that disappears off the edge of a form isn’t much help.

3. Hearing aids, captions and listening systems

Hearing aids can make some sounds more usable for some people, with fit and settings tailored to the wearer. Captions put spoken audio and relevant sounds into text. Transcripts give someone another way to review a lecture, meeting or video. Hearing loops and other assistive listening systems can send sound more directly to compatible hearing devices in some spaces.

These options serve different needs and may be used together. A hearing aid does not replace captions or an accessible conversation. Automatic captions can make errors, especially with names or specialist terms, and a transcript cannot replace live access to a conversation. Ask the person what format works, and check the accuracy of important information.

4. Communication boards and speech-generating devices

Augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, includes pointing to words or pictures on paper, typing a message, using an app or operating a speech-generating device. It may supplement speech or be a person’s main way of communicating.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s AAC guide describes low-tech and electronic options, and notes that people may use more than one. A sophisticated tablet isn’t automatically better than a dependable board. Access method, vocabulary, language, portability and the user’s preferences all matter. Communication partners also need to give the person time to respond.

5. Alternative keyboards, switches and pointing devices

A standard keyboard and mouse assume a particular range of movement. Different layouts, keyguards, trackballs, switches, head pointers and eye-gaze controls offer other ways to operate a device. Speech recognition can help someone dictate and, with some systems, navigate controls by voice.

None is a universal fix. Voice input may be tiring, unreliable for a particular speaker or inappropriate in a shared room. A switch setup may need careful positioning. URevolution’s article on disabled employees and workplace technology looks more closely at how these options fit a real job.

In Kathy Stephanides’ first-person account of using Siri with vision loss, voice commands help her call, text and find information, while names and phrases sometimes come out wrong. Her experience shows why a tool needs testing on the tasks that matter to its user.

6. Text-to-speech and reading supports

Text-to-speech reads digital text aloud. It can help someone who struggles to decode print, experiences visual fatigue or finds listening easier on some days. Audiobooks can provide another route into a book, although they aren’t a substitute for every textbook, diagram or interactive document.

Reading support may also involve adjustable spacing, a simpler display or materials supplied in an accessible digital format. The document needs to be usable with the chosen tool; a photograph of a page may require reliable text recognition first.

7. Reminders, visual schedules and timers

An alarm for an appointment, a step-by-step visual schedule or a timer that shows time passing can support memory, planning or transitions. These can be useful for people with cognitive disabilities, neurodivergent people or someone dealing with fluctuating fatigue or brain fog.

The best setup may be a paper card on the door rather than another app sending twenty notifications. The measure is whether it reduces effort in that person’s routine. For students managing an illness while studying, our college guide covers the wider question of accommodations and support.

8. Wheelchairs, canes and other mobility aids

Mobility technology includes manual and powered wheelchairs, walkers, canes, scooters and some prosthetic or orthotic devices. A wheelchair can support participation and conserve energy; someone may use it for longer trips even if they can walk a short distance. There is no rule that an aid must be used every minute to be legitimate.

Fit, seating, the surfaces someone travels over and access to repairs affect whether a device works well. A mobility aid also cannot make stairs disappear or repair an inaccessible transit system. WHO stresses that products and the services around them belong together.

9. Adapted tools for cooking, dressing and self-care

A built-up utensil handle, jar opener, reacher, button hook or shower chair may make a familiar task less painful or more manageable. Low-tech tools are still technology. Some can be bought easily; others should be tried with an occupational therapist or another appropriate professional when fit or safety is a concern.

These choices are personal. An item advertised as “independent living” may be awkward in a particular kitchen or impossible to clean. Try it where it will be used, if possible.

10. Hands-free home controls

Voice, switches or accessible phone controls can operate some lights, doors or appliances. For a person with limited reach or fluctuating energy, avoiding repeated trips across a room can make a difference. Our hands-free technology article explores those everyday uses and their limits.

Check the whole chain: setup, internet connection, physical fallback, privacy and what happens when the power goes out. A voice-only system excludes people who cannot or do not want to use speech.

How to choose a tool that actually fits

Begin with one task: reading a bill, joining a meeting, getting into a classroom, cooking dinner. Then ask:

• What part of that task is inaccessible, painful, exhausting or unreliable?
• What does the person already use successfully, including low-tech strategies?
• Can the proposed option be tried in the real setting before anyone commits to it?
• Who will set it up, teach its use, maintain it and repair or replace it?
• Does it work with the person’s language, other devices, privacy needs and changing symptoms?

The answer may be a specialist device. It may be a built-in setting or a change to the environment. Buying equipment while leaving a website, school process or building inaccessible puts the burden back on the disabled person.

In the United States, state Assistive Technology Act programs can offer device demonstrations, short-term loans, reuse and information about financing; services vary by state. A trial is especially valuable for expensive or highly individualized equipment.

For a child eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the IEP team must consider whether assistive technology devices and services are needed. That is a route for discussing a child’s specific access needs, rather than a promise that every requested product will be supplied. Adults can also ask a workplace, college disability office, rehabilitation provider or local independent living organization about assessment and access routes relevant to their situation.

The point of assistive technology is ordinary participation: communicating in your own way, getting where you want to go, reading, working, resting and living on your terms. The impressive device is the one that works for its user.