Accessibility with an Injury: The Problem with Sounding like your Mother

We recently published a post regarding the importance of making websites more accessible to all potential users where we provided some tips on improving accessibility.  Accessibility is not just an issue for those with long-term disabilities.  Access is often limited for individuals on a temporary basis due to an injury or surgery.  We asked Julie Tolek to write this follow-up post about her recent surgery and her experience with temporary Accessibility challenges.

Accessibility with an Injury: The Problem with Sounding like your Mother

a Guest Post from Julie Tolek*

Note: I use an iPhone, so this article references iPhone specific settings and apps that may or may not (but should) be available on other devices.

Earlier this year, I was scheduled to have shoulder surgery in March. I had been in pain and unable to use my arm properly for months, and when conservative treatments such as physical therapy and cortisone shots did nothing for the pain, I asked for an MRI. I knew in my heart of hearts that I had real damage to my shoulder but it wasn’t until the MRI confirmed that I had torn my labrum that I was able to set up the surgery.

One of the first things I asked my doctor was how soon will I be able to type, since getting back to work as soon as possible was important. I would be able to move my fingers just fine after the nerve block wore off, but I would not be able to move my arm for a very long time. With physical therapy, I would eventually get my range of motion back over a period of 6-9 months. But first I would have to wear a sling for 8 weeks.

Yikes!

As I started to think about the reality of how this situational temporary disability would affect my work and daily life, my first thought was that of gratitude - that my injury was repairable and that I would have use of my fingers, hand, and arm, all in due time. My next thought was how I was going to get through that time and still be able to use my arm as I could.

My top 3 observations about and experiences with accessibility while my arm was in a sling:

1. Phone numbers on non mobile-responsive websites: 

I am a website and marketing snob as it is, so visiting websites on my mobile device (I use an iPhone) only to find out that the site is not mobile responsive really aggravates me, especially because creating a mobile responsive site can usually be done very easily by clicking a checkbox or changing a setting on the back end. Specifically on mobile responsive sites, if there is a phone number on the site, usually you can tap it and your phone will ask if you want to call the number. Non mobile responsive sites do not have the phone number linked so you can just tap it, but instead force you to copy and paste the phone number into your actual phone app. I have really small hands, so it is often hard for me to use my iPhone one handed to do anything, much less copy and paste. With one arm in a sling, it becomes even more difficult, and annoying.

2. Getting to know Siri when you sound like your mom:

For the first time, I started to regularly use speech-to-text services (such as Siri) to dictate my writing. I had experimented with using Siri before and let me just say, we were not friends. Half the time she would get things right (setting alarms, asking the time, etc.), but when she didn’t or when she asked for clarification, she never understood what I was saying. By the time I used manual input to correct her or do what I was trying to do, it would have taken less time if I had fumbled my way through one handed to begin with. I decided that it was time to really try my best to use Siri as much as possible so we could become more proficient with communicating with each other. Text messages were hands down what I dictated the most, followed by emails. I am paranoid about sending the wrong email to the wrong person, so if I was starting an email from scratch, I would dictate it into notes first and send it manually later. This also gave me a chance to proofread and edit before sending. I would also dictate replies and save the drafts to send later.

Voice commands involving reading messages or creating calendar events using Siri proved to be not as useful. Often times, if I wanted Siri to read a new message for example, I had to unlock my phone with my fingers anyway.

Siri actually started to confuse my mom’s voice with mine! My mom stayed with me during the first part of my recovery. She also uses an iPhone and already used Siri much more than I did. I knew my mom and I sounded alike but when she would say, “Hey Siri!” To activate Siri, and both of our phones would reply, it was kind of weird! Her Siri would recognize my voice as well. What I found the most amusing was if one of us activated Siri, but the other's phone responded!

So I guess Siri is slightly less reliable when you and your mom sound alike.

3. Text to speech:

One of the most overlooked features on the iPhone is the ability to have it read things to you. Whether it is a webpage, a pdf document, or an email, there is another option other than asking Siri to read you something. In Settings > General > Accessibility, there are numerous settings to make the functions and use of the iPhone (or iPad) more accessible to those with disabilities. One of those settings allows Siri to read you the contents of the page by swiping three fingers down from the top of the screen. So if you cannot speak the command but you can see the screen, you can have Siri read to you manually. This setting is actually listed under Vision, in the Speech subcategory.

Once the setting is on and you use three fingers to swipe down from the top of the screen, Siri will begin reading automatically. You can adjust the speed from the little menu that pops up or set a default speed in the Speech settings. Although this method means I have to use my fingers, it is yet another (and sometimes more reliable) way to get Siri to read to me exactly what I want. If there is no readable content on the page, Siri will say so.

I have used this in the car as well when I wanted to be productive and have Siri read legal cases to me. She reads right through website extras and the stuff that you probably would not consider part of the main document, but generally you can follow her monologue.

Having limited use of my arm during my shoulder surgery recovery really got me to think about how these different ways of accessing information really make a difference for people who have disabilities, whether temporary or life long. It’s imperative that we remember, as humans, to be considerate of other people’s methods for seeing and receiving information, and communication, and that we strive to provide different ways to access and harness the same information.

*Julie Tolek is an Associate at Skylark Law & Mediation, PC and runs her own practice, Think Pink Law.  Julie's practice includes family law & divorce representation, prenuptial agreements, mediation, firearms licensing & NFA trusts, estate planning & probate, and adoptions.