Screen Reader Recommendations

[GotMetalBoy]

I'm looking for a free screen reader but willing to pay for one as long as it works good and is user friendly and easy to setup without having to read a huge manual. I'm very dyslexic and it seems to be getting worse as I get older.

I tried the Windows 10 Narrator and NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) from http://www.nvaccess.org but neither could read pdf files very well or I'm using them wrong because I admit I haven't had the time to read all the help files. I tested them with the Axe-Fx II manual and they kept reading from the 1st page and I couldn't figure out how to get them to start from a specific page

The average person can read a word in the time it takes me to read one letter. It took me forever to write the FAMC LF+ and FAS Axe-Fx II Tutorial for the Wiki and it takes a lot of time to keep it up to date.

I use a lot of different music gear and everything is always getting updated and it's a real challenge reading all the documentation. I'm always reading manuals.

 

[hippietim]

I used to do a lot of accessibility work on our various products. The most popular screen reader when I was doing this was JAWS by Freedom Scientific. The main guy doing the development (at least back then) is blind. So a quality screen reader wasn't an optional thing for him. He was smart as heck and a great developer.

 

[Tsunamijuan]

I have used Natural Voice Reader for a long time. The purchased version is fairly in in-expensive, it supports many different document types. As well as exporting text to sound files for listening. The Customizeable pronunciations is also extremely helpful when dealing with technical terms and abbreviations. There are also additional voice pack options for a smoother less abrasive experience.

http://www.naturalreaders.com/index.html

BTW do color filters help you at all with your dyslexia?

 

[GotMetalBoy]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions!

BTW do color filters help you at all with your dyslexia?

Do you mean the colored transparencies? I used to use them a long time ago when we used to read from paper and they helped but now everything is on screens. I wonder if there's large ones that could fit on my 24" monitor?

When I write documents in Word, I usually change the background to a color that's easier for me to read. Black text on a white background is the hardest for me to read, which is 99.99% of all documents. Second hardest for me to read is white text on a black background, which some websites use.

 

[Tsunamijuan]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions!



Do you mean the colored transparencies? I used to use them a long time ago when we used to read from paper and they helped but now everything is on screens. I wonder if there's large ones that could fit on my 24" monitor?

When I write documents in Word, I usually change the background to a color that's easier for me to read. Black text on a white background is the hardest for me to read, which is 99.99% of all documents. Second hardest for me to read is white text on a black background, which some websites use.

Yeah thats what i mean't. You might try turning the gamma down on your monitor while reading text, High contrast ratios on computer monitors can make it much more difficult for people with dyslexia to read. Often monitors support multiple preset gamma profiles so Night Mode might be a good starting point. There is also some additional color profile options in windows accessibility (on windows machines) for people with dyslexia.