Browse Assistive Technology

Google Pixel 11 Pro

Est. $999–$1,299

The Google Pixel 11 Pro is an Android smartphone sold unlocked, so you pick your own carrier and plan. It has a bright display (up to 3600 nits), a Gemini assistant for everyday tasks like finding information and drafting ideas, and a HiLight feature meant to keep you in touch with your phone without staring at the screen. This is a general-purpose phone, not a device built for one disability. Its value as assistive tech comes from the accessibility settings and voice features you turn on and tune to your needs. You'll also need to arrange carrier service yourself.

ZoomText Magnifier/Reader

$545 every year

Also from $93.50 every year

ZoomText Magnifier/Reader is Windows software that makes everything on your computer screen larger and easier to see. It also reads aloud, echoing what you type and announcing key program activity, so you can rely on hearing as well as seeing. It's built for people with low vision who still use the screen but need it enlarged and enhanced. Because it's software rather than a standalone device, it needs a Windows computer to run on.

Galaxy S26 Ultra

Est. $1,199–$1,399

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is a mainstream Android smartphone with a long list of accessibility tools built into the phone itself. For vision, it has the TalkBack screen reader, magnification, and color adjustment. For hands-free or limited-movement use, it has Voice Access, Bixby voice control, switch scanning through Universal Switch, and an on-screen Assistant Menu that stands in for hardware buttons and gestures. For hearing, it adds Live Transcribe and Live Caption for text of speech, sound detectors for things like a doorbell or a crying baby, and Bluetooth hearing aid support. The tools are powerful but spread across many settings menus, so someone will need to choose which ones fit and tune them, and a person new to a screen reader or switch scanning will need time to learn them.

AAC Speak Helper

Free

AAC Speak Helper is a free Windows program that takes text you copy to the clipboard, then translates it, converts it between writing systems (such as Latin to Devanagari), and reads it aloud using text-to-speech voices from several providers. It's meant to be called from another AAC app on Windows that can run outside programs, so it helps most when someone needs to speak a language their AAC app's voices handle poorly. For example, a Ukrainian speaker could have their text turned into English for caregivers. It has no main window of its own, but a separate Configure app lets you set options and keep different settings files for different tasks. You'll need to run the server and client yourself and edit your pagesets to add a speak button, so it's not a plug-and-play tool.

Inclusive Easy Choice Bundle

Est. $150–$450

This bundle pairs two wireless switches with HelpKidzLearn software called EasySwitch and Choose and Tell. Together they give a child a way to start making choices and to practice scanning, where options are highlighted one at a time and a switch press picks one. It is made for young learners who are building early choice-making skills and need a switch, rather than a mouse or touchscreen, to take part. Because the switches are wireless, they can be positioned where a child can reach them most easily. The software runs on a computer, so you'll need one set up and ready.

Switch Skills 2

Est. $40–$90

Switch Skills 2 is a Windows program with 20 cause-and-effect activities for people who are just starting to use a switch. Each press brings lively animations and music, which helps build timing and visual attention. Some activities are open-ended and creative, like spraying paint on a wall or playing with color and movement. Others are more visually complex, for learners who are ready for a next step. You can adjust the settings to fit one person and change them as skills grow. It works with a switch or a touch screen, but you'll need a switch and a way to connect it to the computer.

Apple Hearing Accessibility

Free

Apple's hearing accessibility features are built into its devices and cover Live Listen, Live Captions and support for Made for iPhone hearing devices. With Live Listen, your iPhone's microphone picks up people who are speaking from a distance, like across a dining table or in a lecture hall, and sends that sound to your AirPods, Beats headphones, or compatible hearing devices. You can also read Live Captions of the conversation on a paired Apple Watch, or on a nearby iPhone or iPad signed in to the same Apple Account. Apple Watch, iPhone, or iPad can act as a remote to start or stop a session, or jump back a few seconds to catch something you missed. Features and languages vary by region, so check availability before counting on a specific one.

SwitchIt! Hygiene Extra

Est. $45–$120

SwitchIt! Hygiene Extra is learning software that uses everyday personal hygiene themes to help someone build switch skills. It includes several activity types, from simple cause and effect, to putting steps in order, to choosing from a picture menu on their own. You can adjust the settings to fit the learner, and it works with a wide range of access devices. It suits learners of any age who are learning to use a switch while also learning about daily routines.

Talking Typer for Windows

$79.00

Talking Typer for Windows is typing-training software that speaks each lesson aloud and also shows it on screen. It includes drills, practice sessions, and typing games, and it adjusts to the student's skill level and to how much they can see. It's meant for students who are learning to type and need audio support to do it.

MacBook Pro

$1,599.00

The MacBook Pro is Apple's laptop line, available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes with M5-family chips and a Liquid Retina XDR display. It is a general-purpose computer, so it is not a single-purpose assistive device, but it runs macOS, which has accessibility settings for vision, hearing, movement, and thinking and learning needs. Those settings can also help with communication, for example by running speech or switch-based communication software. The laptop also has a 12MP camera, a three-mic array, a six-speaker system, and a headphone jack. How much it helps depends on which macOS settings and apps you turn on, so budget time to explore and set them up.

SoundingBoard

Est. $10–$50

SoundingBoard is an iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch app that turns the device into a communication board. You build boards with up to 20 message spots, using the built-in AbleNet symbols or your own photos. Each spot can hold a recorded message of almost any length, so a touch speaks a message in a voice you choose. It suits someone who needs to make choices or share simple messages and has a caregiver, teacher, or family member to build and record the boards. Because it runs on a larger iPad screen as well, the buttons can be made bigger. The app is also offered in French, German, and Spanish. Taking photos inside the app isn't supported on the previous-generation iPod touch or iPad 1.

NaturalReader

Free plan · paid up to $159 every year

NaturalReader is text-to-speech software that reads documents, PDFs, images and web pages out loud, and it can save the audio as an MP3. Its camera scanner reads printed text, and the Chrome extension reads web pages, emails and PDFs, and can read your own writing back in Google Docs so you can catch mistakes by ear. It works as a web app, on iOS, Android and desktop, so it suits students or adults who find reading easier by listening, or who have trouble seeing small print. There is a free plan, but the paid plans are billed yearly, so check what each level includes before you commit.

SwitchIt! Transport Extra

Est. $40–$90

SwitchIt! Transport Extra is Windows software that turns twelve transport themes, such as a school bus, ferry, digger, space rocket and taxi, into cause-and-effect and early choice-making activities. Each theme has flash cards that show a picture and say its name, picture builds that put a scene together with a switch press and end in an animated reward, and animated stories. It's meant for young learners who access a computer by switch, touch screen, mouse or auditory scanning, and who benefit from clear graphics, sound cues and picture menus. Printable extras like flashcards, sequencing, colouring and matching games come with it, and you can adjust the subject choices and access settings for each learner. You'll need your own switch and a way to connect it if switch access is the goal.

Grid for iPad from Smartbox

Est. $99–$349

Grid for iPad is an AAC app, which means it helps someone who can't rely on speech to communicate by speaking for them from the iPad. It's built as a full communication platform, with ready-made resources for both symbol-based and text-based communication, so it can fit someone who builds messages from pictures as well as someone who types. You get a library of resources included. It runs on an iPad, so you'll need one, and picking a vocabulary layout and setting it up for the person's needs goes more smoothly with input from a speech-language pathologist.

simPODD

Est. $30–$100

simPODD is an iOS app for using PODD communication books, a paper-based way of communicating that some people use with a communication partner. It aims to make communicating feel more natural and to speed up printing the pages. It comes from the team that makes Proloquo2Go.

Switch Skills

Est. $30–$80

Switch Skills is a Windows program of game-style activities that help someone practice pressing a switch at the right moment. In activities like Racing Cars, Catch the Crocs and Soccer Shoot, the learner presses to race, catch or kick when the timing is right. Bright graphics and audio feedback make it usable for learners with low vision. The program tracks performance, and you can raise the difficulty as skills grow. A related Scanning title builds early scanning and choice-making skills. It is software only, so you will need a switch the learner can use and a way to connect it to the computer.

Boardmaker 7 Student Center

Est. $99–$499

Student Center is the app a learner opens to do Boardmaker 7 activities that a teacher, therapist, or parent has assigned. Those activities show up in the learner's account on their own. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook computers, iPads, and Tobii Dynavox devices, and it works with or without an internet connection. Access settings for eye gaze, switch, mouse, and touch can be saved to the learner's login, so the right setup is ready each time. The app comes with any Boardmaker 7 Subscription, so you need that subscription before it's useful. The subscription tier decides whether you can assign material and track progress.

Google Pixel 11

Est. $799–$1,199

The Google Pixel 11 is a general-purpose Android smartphone, and its built-in accessibility settings are what make it useful as assistive technology. It comes unlocked, so you pick the carrier and plan, and it runs on Google's Tensor G6 chip. Look at the screen options: brightness reaches 3000 nits on the standard model, and the glass cover is built to resist scratches. This is a phone, not a ready-made AT system, so any voice, vision, or touch settings need to be turned on and tuned to the person using it.

Apple Zoom

Free

Zoom is the built-in screen magnifier on Apple devices. It enlarges what's on the screen so small text and images are easier to see. You can magnify the whole screen, or use Window Zoom to enlarge just one area with a lens you can resize. Follow Focus keeps the magnified view on whatever you select or type. Smart Typing enlarges the text area while leaving the keyboard at normal size. Color filters (inverted, grayscale, grayscale inverted, and low light) can make the magnified area more comfortable to read. Zoom works together with VoiceOver, Apple's screen reader, so you can see and hear the screen at once. On Mac you can split the screen to view content up close and far away at the same time, and set a separate zoom level for each display. On Apple Vision Pro, Zoom can also magnify your surroundings through the headset's camera. Zoom is a software feature, so you need a supported Apple device, and each device has its own settings to learn.

Typio Typing Tutor Software

$99.95

Typio is a typing tutor that teaches the full QWERTY keyboard through spoken guidance and high-visibility on-screen visuals, so a student who is blind or has low vision can learn to touch type. It includes 45 lessons that save progress and move forward only when the student reaches the goals set for them. Teachers can build custom lessons, keep records for each student, and print detailed reports. It also has a free-type mode that tracks stats without prompting, and a practice mode for reviewing lessons. It runs on its own without a screen reader or other accessibility program.

Galaxy Z Fold8

Est. $1,799–$1,999

The Galaxy Z Fold8 is a foldable Android smartphone from Samsung, and its accessibility tools cover vision, hearing, and motor needs in one device. For vision, it has the TalkBack screen reader, magnification, and color adjustment. For hearing, Live Transcribe and Live Caption turn speech and audio into text, sound detectors can alert you to things like a doorbell or a crying baby, and Bluetooth hearing aid support is built in. For motor access, Voice Access and Bixby let you control the phone by voice, Universal Switch supports switch scanning, and Assistant Menu puts the hardware buttons and gestures on screen. Most of these features have to be turned on and tuned to the person, so expect some time in Settings. It's also a high-priced phone, so this is a good fit if you want a mainstream device that already has these tools rather than a dedicated AT product.

Inclusive Switch Skills Bundle

Est. $600–$1,200

This bundle pairs a Multi2 switch interface and Smoothie Switches with Switch Skills software titles that build core switch control and timing. The activities start with cause and effect and move toward early scanning, so a child can practice using a switch step by step. The listings differ on whether it includes three or four software titles, so confirm that before ordering. It's a ready-made practice kit, but it works best when a therapist or teacher helps match the switches and activities to the child.

Switch Skills for Two Set 2

Est. $40–$90

Switch Skills for Two Set 2 is a Windows software pack with 11 two-switch activities for learners who are moving past basic cause and effect. In the "Build Up" games, one switch builds or prepares something, like stacking tin cans or inflating a balloon, and the second switch sets off the result, such as knocking the tower down or popping the balloon. The "Move and Get" games, like feeding a crocodile or launching a rocket, add timing and sequencing, which helps prepare a learner for scanning communicators. You'll need two switches and a way to connect them to your computer, and it's delivered by email rather than shipped.

Apple Live Speech & Personal Voice

Free

Live Speech lets you type what you want to say and have your device say it out loud, including during Phone and FaceTime calls and face-to-face conversations. You can save phrases you use often and group them into categories, such as a Coffee Shop set for ordering. You can pick from dozens of system voices or use a Personal Voice, which is a voice you create that sounds like you. Personal Voice is built by reading 10 randomized phrases aloud, and it's aimed at people who are at risk of losing their voice. These are built-in Apple features, so availability varies by device, region, and language.