What is Assistive Technology?

Broadly speaking, assistive technology (AT) is any device or service that lessens or removes the barriers faced by people with disabilities. Common examples of physical AT devices include wheelchairs, hearing aids, and computer input devices like trackball mice and sip-and-puff devices that replace traditional mice or keyboards.

This page focuses on assistive technology software, including links to some of the AT software available at the University of Illinois, as well as some free alternatives available to anyone. The free alternatives listed in each section are by no means exhaustive, and many won’t have all the features available from paid programs. However, they do give a good example of the basic functionalities available from each type of software, and may help determine whether it’s worth pursuing more feature-rich alternatives.

Disclaimer: DRES and the University of Illinois do not formally endorse or recommend any specific software programs. The programs listed below serve as examples of different categories of AT, with a focus on the software available to University of Illinois students registered with DRES with assistive technology as part of their accommodations. For vendors interested in having their AT programs featured on the DRES website, please contact us at dres-accessible-media@illinois.edu.


Dictation Software

Also known as speech-to-text, dictation software transcribes what a user says into text on their computer, allowing users to “type” without using a keyboard. Many programs also have voice commands that allow you to navigate, correct, and format the text you’ve entered.

Lots of factors contribute to how accurately a dictation program will be able to transcribe your words, from the program and microphone you’re using to your accent and pronunciation. Below are some general tips that should make whatever program you’re using more accurate:

  • Use an external microphone, not the one built-in to your phone or laptop
  • Speak clearly, at a consistent speed and volume
  • Try to stay at the same distance away from your microphone
  • Try to minimize background noise
  • Think through what you’re about to say before you start speaking
  • Just focus on getting your thoughts on the page at first; you can go back to correct and format the text later on

Who can benefit?

  • People with reduced or no mobility in their hands who may struggle to use a keyboard or mouse
  • People who want to focus on getting their thoughts down without worrying about spelling
  • People who find it easier or quicker to convey their thoughts aloud than through writing
  • People who experience “blank page paralysis” from looking at an empty page

Text-to-speech software, or TTS, will read the text of documents and web pages aloud. Most have different voice options to choose from, and allow you to customize the speed and pitch of the voice. They can also highlight the word currently being read, allowing users to follow along visually.

Some users may find the computer-generated speech robotic and difficult to listen to at first, so it’s worth experimenting with different voice options, or downloading new voices from an app’s website. Voice quality has also improved drastically over the years, and will likely become even more natural in future.

Who can benefit?

  • People with low vision or who get eye strain from reading from a computer screen
  • People whose learning style is better suited to auditory or bimodal learning
    • Many TTS programs have the option to highlight the text as it’s read, which promotes multimodal learning.
  • People who struggle with reading comprehension or who are English language learners
  • People who prefer to multitask while reading
A large pair of microphones around a smartphone.
Photo by Sanket Mishra

Desktop computer displaying a matrix of letters.
Photo by Josh Sorenson

Screen readers are similar to TTS programs, but in addition to reading out documents and web pages, they also read out information about anything that’s displayed on the screen, such as the title of the active window, menu items, and form controls. Many also have support for use with refreshable Braille displays.

Screen readers also add keyboard shortcuts and touchscreen gestures that aid in navigating the computer, such as switching between windows and tabs or moving between the headings on a website, which allows users to operate their computer without using a mouse or looking at the screen.

Screen readers are also a cornerstone of accessibility testing, and multiple programs are often used when testing a website or program, since each one may behave slightly differently.

Who can benefit?

  • People who are blind, have low vision, or get eye strain from using a computer screen
  • People whose manual dexterity makes using a computer mouse difficult, but can operate a keyboard
  • People whose learning style is better suited to auditory or bimodal learning

Screen magnifiers do just that, magnify everything on the computer screen, including toolbars, menus, and graphics that often can’t have their font size easily increased by other means. Some also offer related tools that make the computer easier to see, like screen tinting or color inversion to reduce eyestrain, and mouse and text cursor changes to make the cursor easier to track across the screen.

Who can benefit?

  • People who are blind or have low vision
  • People who get eyestrain from looking at unfiltered computer screens
A large magnifying glass lying atop sheaves of multicolored paper.
Photo by Pixabay

Note-taking software is an informal category describing programs that provide a range of tools to aid in recording and organizing information. Features can include audio recording and transcription, text editing to add your own notes, tagging sections of audio or text for later review, and AI-generated summaries or quizzes on the recorded information.

Who can benefit?

  • People looking to improve their note-taking or organizational systems
  • People who are concerned about their focus wandering or not writing down important information during class
  • People who want to be fully engaged during lectures, instead of splitting their attention by taking notes

For More Information

If any of these programs sounded useful to you, contact your Access Specialist or begin the accommodation process today to get an assistive technology program added to your accommodations. For questions or to request personalized AT training, email AMS at dres-accessible-media@illinois.edu and include “[AT]” in the subject line.