Reading has the undeniable power to transform lives by helping individuals expand their perspectives and connect socially and emotionally with their families and communities. Thus, it’s important to prioritize inclusion in reading communities and help everyone leverage the benefits of reading, no matter their age or background.

For example, a previous post on women-led graphic novels highlights the importance of portraying female lead characters as strong, dynamic, and complex. Through well-thought-out portrayals of girls and young women as queer teenage girls in Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms or as brave female fighters in Malika: Warrior Queen, female readers, who are often underrepresented in the literary world, can feel more seen, understood, and empowered. However, making reading more inclusive goes beyond equal representation and must also take into account its accessibility for persons with disabilities.

Data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey found that over 50 million American adults experience some degree of vision loss, with the prevalence increasing with age. Meanwhile, research published in the journal Ear and Hearing notes that an estimated 72.88 million people in the United States have hearing loss, accounting for 22.2% of the total population. Both forms of physical disabilities can negatively impact the quality of life, including the ability to access books and harness the power of reading.

While books now come in electronic and audio formats, various assistive technologies, as outlined below, help address specific barriers for deaf and low-vision readers and ultimately enable reading fluency and comprehension.

Hearing glasses

Prescription glasses and hearing aids are common forms of assistive technology among deaf and low-vision individuals, helping them see and hear clearly while consuming various book formats. However, considering that more than 1.5 million people in the US live with combined vision and hearing loss, technology company Nuance developed all-in-one vision and hearing solutions in the form of hearing glasses.

Through over-the-counter hearing aids integrated into smart glasses, readers with vision impairment and mild-to-moderate hearing loss can compensate for refractive errors and, at the same time, reduce the listening effort to access printed books and audiobooks more effectively. These hearing glasses are also equipped with proprietary beamforming technology to minimize background noise in crowded settings and improve sound clarity.

Screen readers

Although there are now e-readers that support audiobooks, not every printed text has an audio format that can help low-vision readers absorb information. In this case, they can use screen readers, such as Windows’ Narrator, to vocalize all on-screen text and elements when reading electronic books on computers and laptops. This built-in software, which is accessible on the Windows accessibility menu and dock, also lets users customize the speed, pitch, volume, and verbosity settings for a greater reading experience.

Speech-to-text technology

Lastly, hard-of-hearing individuals can utilize speech-to-text technology (STT) to convert spoken language in audiobooks and podcasts into written text. Popular operating systems like Windows and Apple have STT features, such as Speech Recognition and Dictation, to help deaf readers translate informative audio resources into text for free.

Meanwhile, Google offers Live Transcribe, which uses an anti-reference speech recognition system to capture speech and sound in real-time and display them as text on the screen. This makes it suitable for seamlessly switching between printed text and spoken formats.

Overall, publishers and the reading community alike must raise awareness about the existence of these assistive technologies to normalize their use and reduce the stigma and discrimination that deaf and low-vision readers may face. Continue reading Manhattan Book Review’s blog posts for more insightful reading guides and reviews.