Have you ever squinted to read the text on a website? Or tried to tap on a link to an article over and over, only to have it open an ad instead? Many of us can't read the small print, or hear as well as we use to. Some of us have tremors in our hands that make fine motor movements difficult. Wouldn't it be nice if our computer, phones, and tablets were just a little more forgiving? The good news is that most of our devices–iPhones, Androids, Macs and Windows PCs–have something called Accessibility Settings that can make it easier to use them. In fact, there are so many different options available (with different instructions depending on the device), that I can only go into basic descriptions of them here, covering each of our five senses. Sight Our computers, tablets, and phones all have the ability to change the brightness of the screen. But, did you know that they also have ways to adjust the contrast to accommodate varying degrees of eyesight issues? In addition, you can zoom in and out on a screen to see it close up. One step better than that, however, is to change the size of the text and icons so they're always at a readable size. If you don't feel like reading text of any size, you also have the option to have your device read it aloud in something called System Speak. One more thing: Have you ever missed a call because you just didn't hear or see it ringing? Well, your phone also has the capability to flash whenever there's an alert. Sound Of course there are volume buttons on your device to adjust loudness, but if your hearing issues are a little more robust, you'll be glad to know that most phones are equipped to integrate with hearing aids. In addition, you can turn on captions when video chatting with others. I've used captions when FaceTiming with a friend in a noisy environment. Very helpful indeed! Touch For those of us who need assistance with our fine motor movements, there are numerous functions that can help us operate and navigate our devices more easily. •On phones and tablets with a touch screen: adjust how the screen registers your taps and gestures. Settings include (but aren't necessarily limited to) tracking sensitivity, dwell control, movement tolerance, and customizable gestures. •On computers: you can adjust the size of the pointer and the speed that the mouse moves it across the screen. You can also set the speed for double clicking the mouse or touchpad to something that YOU find comfortable–not what some 25-year-old programmer thinks is the right speed. These are just some of the motor skill accessibility features that can make life easier for those of us with stiff joints, tremors, or reduced reaction time in our hands. Smell & Taste Starting with the iPhone 15, Apple has introduced a feature that can enhance the flavor and scent of your device. New iPhones now taste more delicious and smell more daisy fresh than the leading Android phone. (Not really, but wouldn't that be fun?) Keep it Simple iPhone users also have the ability to set up their device in something called Assistive Access. Here, you can choose just what items you want to see on the screen in a bigger, more focused way. Assistive Access makes using your iPhone simpler to navigate and understand how to use it. So Many Options to Help Us I wish that I could've gone into detail about how to set up all of the available accessibility features. Unfortunately, there are just too many, and I would be writing until next year. However, if you'd like to explore what features are on your devices that can help you with sight, sound, and touch issues, I'd be happy to help you set them up. Please feel free to Contact me!
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