by Tara Wilcox, MLIS, and Lauren Tucker, Ed.D.
What number of of your purchasers rely upon know-how each day? Growing entry to obligatory assets for purchasers may be as straightforward because the swipe of a finger. As referenced within the Grand Challenges for Social Work, harnessing know-how is essential to growing alternatives and selling fairness. Consciousness of the accessibility instruments which are out there on smartphones will help social staff present entry to apps, assets, and suppliers that purchasers might not have utilized earlier than. Working within the subject of assistive know-how, we’re persistently reminded of the ability acceptable entry supplies.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity to navigate know-how to entry important assets similar to counseling and healthcare, in addition to signing up for important companies similar to unemployment advantages and Social Safety. Accessibility options may be essential on this course of for people to finish these duties independently. They will additionally make each day duties similar to studying a menu or holding in contact with family and friends simpler. On this article, we are going to share our high accessibility options of smartphones and the corresponding duties they’ll help with.
Getting Began – Which Mannequin?
Shoppers can have completely different fashions of smartphones, and a few of these directions might fluctuate from system to system. For instance, the Android platform can run on a wide range of units. Additionally, newer iPhones such because the iPhone 12 and up have elevated capabilities, similar to individual detection and door detection, which are unavailable on older fashions. For the needs of this text, we are going to talk about the fundamental options out there throughout Android and iPhone fashions.
Digital Assistants Can Assist!
It may be troublesome to recollect the entire methods to entry the apps and accessibility options of a telephone. Digital assistants are an important introduction to accessibility options. Voice activated assistants could make telephone calls, schedule reminders, and share places. A consumer’s voice may also activate options such because the flashlight and digicam.
Apple’s Siri comes included with the iPhone and may be accessed by holding the aspect button or residence button and saying “Hey Siri.” To entry Siri hands-free, even when your telephone is locked, navigate to Settings and select “At all times Pay attention” for “Hey Siri.” Siri may also work by way of textual content by turning on “Sort to Siri.” Training Siri’s capabilities is a enjoyable means for purchasers to get to know their telephone’s capabilities. Some observe instructions for Siri:
- Hey Siri, name Dwelling.
- Hey Siri, the place am I?
- Hey Siri, when is the subsequent bus to…
- Hey Siri, open the digicam.
On an Android, “Hey Google” can be utilized in the identical method as “Hey Siri” on an iPhone. To entry “Hey Google,” customers ought to open their Google app, go to their profile, select Settings, click on on Voice, faucet “Hey Google” and “Voice Match,” after which activate “Hey Google.” Some observe instructions for “Hey Google” may be:
- Hey Google, when is my subsequent dentist appointment?
- Hey Google, name Mother.
- Hey Google, what motion pictures are taking part in close by?
“Hey Google” can be used with different apps, similar to Walmart, Instacart, and WhatsApp.
I Can’t See It!
Have a consumer with elevated display time and eye fatigue? Frequent complications? Show lodging is likely to be a characteristic to discover. For an Apple system, beneath Settings, Accessibility, and Show and Textual content Dimension, this menu permits the consumer to regulate the visible settings throughout the system. On Android units, show and textual content measurement options may be discovered by going to the Settings app and clicking on Show. Having hassle seeing the textual content? Daring it! Enlarge it! Certainly one of our favourite options is the colour filter, which tints the display with a selected shade hue. This lodging can cut back eye fatigue and pressure for a lot of customers.
Settings Earlier than Show Lodging
Textual content After Show Lodging
Simply Pay attention
Textual content to Speech permits written content material to be spoken aloud. Customers can modify the voice, velocity, and textual content highlighting to their preferences. This help can be utilized to learn textual content messages, articles, emails, and extra. Not solely is that this characteristic essential for people with studying difficulties, however it may possibly additionally assist with multitasking or visible challenges.
On iPhones, navigate to Settings, then Accessibility. Then go to Imaginative and prescient, select Spoken Content material, and activate Converse Choice.
On Android, choose Settings, Accessibility, Textual content to Speech output. Though every of the platforms would possibly present textual content to speech a bit in a different way, demonstrating it for a consumer and exploring the help on their system can take away vital obstacles.
Take a Nearer Look
Prescription labels may be troublesome to learn, even for these with 20/20 imaginative and prescient. The Magnifier characteristic on smartphones makes use of the digicam to enlarge and illuminate objects. The magnifier is a great tool for viewing labels, menu gadgets, and another hard-to-see objects.
iPhone’s Magnifier may be discovered by going to the Settings icon and tapping on the Management Middle. The iPhone Magnifier additionally has a flashlight characteristic and might seize photographs of the item the consumer is zooming in on. As soon as the picture is captured by the digicam, the colour, brightness, and distinction can be personalized.
Android’s Magnifier may be turned on by going to Settings, selecting Accessibility, then turning on Magnifier. This characteristic could be very helpful for a consumer who has questions on directions on a prescription label and needs to share them with a physician or pharmacist.
Preserve it Collectively
Have your purchasers discovered the accessibility options which are proper for them? Preserve entry instruments collectively by means of two nice assets. With a triple click on on the Dwelling or aspect button, relying on the iPhone mannequin, purchasers can activate their accessibility options on the house display. To arrange the accessibility shortcut, go to Settings, select Accessibility, select Accessibility Shortcuts, and choose the features they wish to have.
To maintain every little thing in a single place on the Android aspect, the Accessibility Suite, which may be discovered within the Google Play Retailer, retains the Accessibility menu, TalkBack, and Choose to Converse all collectively.
Android Accessibility Suite Screenshot
Taken from: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.marvin.talkback&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
iPhone Accessibility Shortcut
The place Are You?
Many smartphone customers use location apps to seek out their units if they’re misplaced. Nevertheless, the situation apps can be used to find customers themselves if they’re misplaced or in misery. Utilizing the Household Sharing characteristic within the Discover My app on iPhone to allow location sharing with trusted household and buddies can present added peace of thoughts for purchasers who’re dwelling independently. Shoppers can select to share their location to let their family members know the place they’re at any given time. Alerts to places similar to residence and work may be turned on within the Discover My app to share protected arrival and departure from particular places. Customers may also get instructions to the situation being shared.
To allow location sharing, go to the Discover My app, faucet on Individuals, and add family and friends out of your contact listing. A tremendous shortcut for this characteristic on iPhone is that if the consumer sorts “I’m at” in a message, a hyperlink to “Present Location” seems to mechanically share the consumer location. Places may be shared on an Android telephone by going to Google Maps, tapping on Settings, selecting Location Settings, and selecting Share Location. Location can be shared in Google Messages on Android by tapping the + signal within the decrease left nook and selecting Location.
Sharing Location on Android
Sharing Location on iPhone
Swiping Into the Future
Concerned with stepping it up a notch? There are some extra superior accessibility options for listening to and visible help. For instance, with door detection, blind or low-vision purchasers can extra simply entry exits and entrances in unfamiliar environment. Apple can be improving its captioning and display studying options for customers with listening to and imaginative and prescient impairments.
For extra details about Apple’s latest software program options: https://www.apple.com/accessibility/
For extra details about Google’s accessibility options: https://www.android.com/accessibility/
Updates for Days
The world of know-how adjustments quickly. New updates, variations, and options seem continually, and a few customers would possibly want further help to navigate their units. Directing them to the platform assist companies is a superb place to begin.
Apple Assist:
https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=arshw
Android Assist:
https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6006564?hl=en
That’s a Wrap.
Smartphones have develop into lifelines in our society. Guaranteeing that purchasers have entry to this know-how and the flexibility to make use of it’s a necessary ability in a social employee’s toolkit. What higher approach to study these instruments than to make use of them your self? Perhaps a number of the options we described right here may even be useful in your each day life. As everyone knows, with know-how, the extra you utilize it, the more adept you develop into. We hope that by highlighting these options now we have helped you to help your purchasers in using their private know-how to its fullest potential.
Tara Wilcox, MLIS, presently works as a faculty know-how specialist. As a part of her research within the subject of assistive know-how, she has develop into conscious of the big variety of assistive applied sciences that may enhance accessibility and assist individuals achieve entry to assets in addition to make each day duties simpler.
Lauren Tucker, Ed.D., works as a particular schooling professor and assistive know-how specialist. Lauren works carefully with native organizations to supply accessibility coaching for social staff, senior heart administrators, and different professionals to advertise inclusion and know-how implementation.
