If you have been dependent on your computer but can no longer distinguish information on the computer screen, even using the accessibility features of Windows XP, you may be feeling very lost.

It would be advisable to locate a vision rehabilitation agency in your area where you can take advantage of a thorough Technology Evaluation. Specially trained AT (Assistive Technology) professionals will be able to help you determine which adaptive devices and software will best meet your computer usage needs.

Thanks to major advances in screen reading software, it has become much more possible and far easier to access all aspects of computer usage via synthesized speech. Some of the more popular speech software programs (screen readers) on the market today include:

• JAWS — from Freedom Scientific
• WindowEyes — from GW Micro
• Hal — from Dolphin Computer Access
• ZoomText with NeoSpeech from AI Squared

In the United States, and increasingly throughout the world, JAWS for Windows is taking a significant part of this market. For this reason, you may find it easier to locate potential trainers for this software as opposed to other alternatives.

The downsides to these types of programs are their relatively high price and their complexity, which can make the learning process rather time consuming. However, all of these products offer free demonstration copies, which you can either request on a CD-Rom or download directly from their websites. These demonstration copies will come with certain restrictions, but do provide you with the opportunity to try them out and get used to listening to synthesized speech. By the way, do not get discouraged if you are unable to easily understand everything you hear. With practice, you will get much faster and you will quickly forget you are listening to computer-generated speech.