Kat’s Corner: My Experience with Assistive Technology (AT) Assistive technology plays a huge role for people with various disabilities, including visual impairment. It is a game-changer because it turns things that once seemed impossible into things that are possible. While accessible technology is designed for everyone to use, assistive technology (AT) is more personalized and helps individuals with disabilities meet their specific needs. To me, AT is any tool or support that helps me access the world and do things more efficiently and independently as a visually impaired individual.
Something that I was recently reminded of is that AT isn’t just electronics or apps on your phone or computer. It’s anything that makes your world easier to navigate. For example, kitchen appliances like a liquid level indicator that beeps when a cup is full, or an oven mitt designed to give you a better grip, are also forms of AT.
My Everyday AT Tools There are many ways I use AT as part of my daily life. For example, I quite literally cannot live without text-to-speech and voice-to-type features. These have become my top tools. I adjust the settings on my computer, such as turning on a cursor tracker. I also downloaded a magnifier app on my phone that lets me zoom in with more detail than the phone’s camera, which helps when I need to identify something from a distance or take a picture of a sign.
When I was first getting familiar with AT tools, it was incredibly important that the tool help me complete schoolwork successfully and efficiently, from elementary school all the way through college. During my school years, I learned about specific tools through vision teachers, orientation and mobility instructors, and other agencies that my teachers introduced me to. I got to try out lots of different tools, including various magnifiers, CCTVs, accessible microscopes with screens for science classes, tangible page magnifiers, different types of markers that showed up more clearly on paper, slant boards to avoid leaning in too close, accessible desks, larger desks to fit all my tools, and digital platforms that offered read-aloud textbooks.
Finding What Works (and What Doesn’t) I was always pretty open to trying anything, but I could usually tell right away when something worked and when it didn’t. That’s why it’s so important to try different options. One tool that didn’t work for me was the CCTV. I didn’t like how my hands had to move the material while I looked up at a screen. It felt like my hands were disconnected from what I was seeing, and the process was frustrating and overwhelming. I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to adapt to.
I’ve always been involved in picking what works best for me. When I was younger, I even got to visit a special location with my vision itinerant teacher, where I tried out different types of magnifiers and got to choose what worked best for me.
Now that I’m older, I wish I had more opportunities to try new tools that could support me in my home life. For example, there are many kitchen gadgets I’ve seen online and on social media that I’d love to try out. I hope I get the chance to explore them.
How AI Supports Me The final thing I want to mention is how much Al has played a role in AT and in making things more accessible. For example, I can't always catch small grammar errors like extra spaces, punctuation, or the difference between a period and a comma, and little things like that. Being able to copy and paste my writing into an AI tool and ask it to fix grammar without changing my voice is incredibly helpful. It lets me stay true to how I write while still making sure everything is clear and mostly correct.
Al also helps me in everyday situations, not just with schoolwork. In the kitchen, if I'm trying to check an expiration date on a box or figure out how to use a new appliance, I can take a picture and have Al describe it to me. It can read labels, explain what buttons do, and help me understand how everything is set up. That makes things way less frustrating and gives me more independence because I don't always have to ask someone else for help. I do use AT with caution, though, knowing it's not always going to be accurate. But for me, it's been about 97% accurate, which is why I rely on it so much. Overall, it saves me a lot of time, because things that would usually take me hours are now much quicker and more efficient.
Why AT Matters Overall, assistive technology has played a huge role in my life, not just in helping me succeed in school, but in allowing me to be independent and confident in who I am. From my experience, the most important thing is that AT should be personalized, because what works for one person may not work for another. I would encourage blind and low vision students to explore different tools and not be afraid to advocate for what they need. At the same time, support teams and educators should listen to students and understand that AT is not just about tools, but about access, independence, and equal opportunity. When used the right way, AT is not just support, it is empowerment.
