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Macintosh OS

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Disability Tips

Archived Information Only - This site will not be updated.

Macintosh OSX has features for people with visual impairment:

Zoom- enlarges the full screen
Keyboard navigation- eliminates need for mouse
Talking alerts- reads alert messages aloud
Text to Speech- reads selected text aloud using one of many voices
Display Adjustment- reverse or enhanced contrast

Macintosh features for those with physical impairment:

Sticky keys- one handed keyboarders can capitalize
Slow keys- defeats unintended multiple keystrokes
Keyboard navigation- keyboard shortcuts for open, save, etc.
Mouse keys- allows mouse movement through keypad
Speech recognition- specific commands and choices can be spoken.

Macintosh features for those with hearing impairment:

Visual Alert- flashes the screen when software/printer need attention.

Macintosh features for those with learning disabilities:

Display Adjustment - Reverse contrast can help some readers.
Text to Speech- reads selected text aloud using one of many voices.

Earlier Mac versions have many of these features as well.

OSX Tiger, the newest system, has improvements on a number of these features, including enhanced text to speech. New Tiger features include:

cursor enlargement,
an easy to use dictionary, and
iChat video conferencing - good enough to allow users to read sign language!