Accessibility Overlay Tools and Web Accessibility for Those With Color Vision Deficiency

According to the Census Bureau, approximately 56.7 million Americans have a disability, which means about one in every five people faces difficulties doing things many take for granted. As online access becomes more of a necessity in the modern world, it is becoming increasingly vital to accommodate people with disabilities. Besides using technologies like accessibility overlay tools and plugins, here are a few simple ways to help people with color vision deficiency access websites more efficiently.

Color Vision Deficiency

Color Enhancer, a Chrome extension developed by Google Accessibility, allows users to adjust a color filter to improve color perception to see websites more clearly. After installing the free extension, an icon with three colored circles will appear to the right of the address bar, alongside other extensions. To enable the extension, click on the icon and check the box. Then, click the "setup" button to reveal a series of images by adjusting a slider.

Users report mixed results, with some noticeable reporting improvement and others reporting no improvement at all. Although it is not the perfect solution, it is free, simple to install, and easy to try.

Text-to-speech

A text-to-speech extension is another accessibility overlay tool that can be useful for those who have a visual impairment. For example, Talking Web is a Google Play extension that works well and allows you to select between male and female voices. After installing it, its icon will appear in the toolbar to the right of the address bar, just like the other extensions.

One potential issue is the requirement to highlight the text you want it to read, which may be challenging for some users with visual impairments.

These tools do not address all of the issues that people with disabilities face, but there are online resources that can help with other problems. For example, many more tips and suggestions are available on the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) website for both website designers and users. WAI also assists those with difficulty hearing, controlling a mouse, or using a keyboard. So if someone you know has trouble viewing websites or interacting online, you might find a solution there.