Speech in Diverse Abilities and Barriers, How People with Disabilities Use the Web

Accessibility: It's about people

Note: The examples given in this section are not a complete list of all disabilities or barriers.

Introduction

People with speech disabilities encounter barriers with voice-based services, such as automated hotlines and applications that are operated using voice commands. To use services that rely on voice, people with speech disabilities need alternative modes of interaction such as text-based chat to interact with hotline representatives. Also, when the telephone numbers is the only means of communicating with an organization, it poses barriers for people with speech disabilities. Alternative means of communication include e-mail and feedback forms.

Examples of speech disabilities

Apraxia of speech (AOS) – includes inconsistent articulation and production of speech sounds, and errors producing sounds in the correct order so that spoken words or phrases become difficult to understand.
Cluttering (also called “tachyphemia”) – includes increased speaking rate, incorrect rhythm, intonation, and co-articulation of sounds, and other influent speech that is sometimes similar to stuttering.
Dysarthria – involves weakness or complete paralysis of muscles that are necessary to produce speech, including lips, lungs, throat, tongue, and others.
Speech sound disorder – involves difficulty or inability to produce certain sounds or patterns of sound and sometimes results in addition, distortion, omission, or substitution of such sounds with others.
Stuttering – includes influent speech, repetition of individual sounds or entire words and phrases, and misplacement or prolongation of pauses and sounds while speaking that is different from cluttering.
Muteness (also called “mutism”) – involves the inability to speak due to various reasons such as anxiety, brain injuries, or inability to hear and learn speech.

Examples of barriers for people with speech disabilities

Web-based services, including web applications, that rely on interaction using voice only.
Websites that offer phone numbers as the only way to communicate with the organizations.

Video: Diverse Abilities and Barriers - Speech

This video is also available on a W3C server: Video: Diverse Abilities and Barriers - Speech (file format: MP4, file size: 199MB).

Text Transcript with Description of Visuals

Audio	Visual
How people with disabilities use digital technology: speech disabilities.	How People with Disabilities Use Digital Technology: Speech Disabilities
Speech disabilities affect how people speak, including not speaking, or speaking in a range of different patterns, pitches, and sounds.	Collage of 4 people doing various activities on technology devices or with them nearby.
Some people do not speak at all. This can include people who are Deaf, autistic, have injured or no vocal organs, or have other conditions impacting physical or cognitive speech production.	Deaf man signing to colleagues on a video conference call.
Unfortunately, although it’s a common misperception, speaking differently is not an indication of a person’s intellectual capabilities. Many people stutter, pause, or pronounce words in a range of different patterns, pitches, and utterances due to various disabilities.	Man speaks to phone laying on table beside him, but looks frustrated.
While you might be able to understand me, automatic speech recognition systems often don’t.	Man speaks to the camera.
Some people use a variety of different assistive technologies to generate speech.	Man in wheelchair typing on large keyboard.
I use software for generating speech, which is often not recognized by automatic speech recognition.	The phrase is shown with each word highlighted as it is spoken by the computer.
Websites and apps that require speech input can be a barrier for people with speech disabilities, especially when they rely on automatic speech recognition.	Man using laptop is frustrated. Website shows Customer Support that is only available by telelphone.
Instead, websites and apps, such as customer support systems, need to provide alternatives to voice calls, like chat or email.	Man continues to use laptop at desk.
You can help make technology accessible to me. Accessibility: It’s about people.	Man speaks this phrase then pans to collage of 12 people with different colored backgrounds.
For more information from the Web Accessibility Initiative on how people with disabilities use digital technology, visit w3.org/WAI/people	Accessibility: It’s about people; w3.org/WAI/people