The Internet maintains a presence in our lives that is greater than that of our family, friends and strangers who walk among us. For the majority of Internet users, accomplishing what one needs to accomplish is carried out with ease. However, for people who are visually impaired, a minority group who is often overlooked, the question, “Will this website be accessible?” will always be asked every time we, for leisure or for pleasure, desire to independently access the Internet.

When the Screen Reader, software that “paints a picture” of the items on a computer screen and presents that information in synthesized speech was invented, it came with a promise that that the visually impaired could access the newly emerging technology. The promise of freedom and independence granted by screen readers and Internet content was not kept. The outdated technology the visually impaired rely on to “live in the world” has failed.

Due to the need for websites that are visually appealing and for companies to advertise on websites to promote business and offset the cost of owning a website, it is often difficult or even impossible to access websites that many use on a daily basis. For example, often times there are so many advertisements on news websites, it is difficult to locate the text of the article that one wishes to read and tasks such as purchasing a flight, train or bus reservation, online banking and researching public transportation routes must be handled over the phone or with assistance from a friend or hired reader.

Visually impaired students are told that technology will be their greatest ally when it comes to accessing educational materials. However, what most education professionals do not understand is how limited adaptive technology truly is. While computers allow visually impaired students to access textbooks and handouts independently, these documents must be in the most basic format — free from tables and images. What is even more frustrating is the online software that sometimes comes with textbooks is often not accessible to students who are visually impaired.

During the spring of my freshman year, I took my final foreign language requirement, Spanish 201. I was able to use the online learning software in my Spanish 102 class, so I figured that there would not be any problems accessing the materials in Spanish 201. I decided to purchase the online access code with access to the electronic textbook only to find out that each individual page of the book was an image of the page, something that my assistive technology could not access. In addition, the online assignments were not accessible. I came to the realization that the only option for successfully completing this course was to seek out a reader. The reader that my Disability Services office found was also a tutor, and I enjoyed working with her and appreciated the time she spent assisting with assignments. I was always able to complete assignments by the deadline. However, having to rely on someone to assist with all of your assignments can be stressful. I could not leave any assignment to the last minute and scheduling the time to do assignments had to be carefully planned.

As the 26th anniversary of The Americans With Disabilities Act approaches, the requirements for accessible websites still are not clear to those who manage them. New legislation concerning guidelines for accessible websites will be beneficial; however, the passage of such legislation will take time. In the mean time, ensuring that websites are compatible on all of the most commonly used devices like Microsoft, Apple, and Android will make a world of difference for visually impaired Internet users. With continued awareness and advocacy from visually impaired people and their friends and family, the Internet has the ability to become an accessible place for information access.