We’re delighted to announce a new feature within our Assistive Toolbar following a collaborative product development project with students from Orpheus Centre, a specialist independent college for young disabled adults.
The Recite Me Assistive Toolbar is a customizable accessibility and language support tool used by organizations to help people access online content in the way that works best for them. The Toolbar offers a range of features including text-to-speech functionality, reading aids, customizable styling options, translation into more than 100 languages, and tools designed to support people with disabilities, neurodivergent users, and those with literacy or language needs.
The new feature, called Focus Audio, is designed to support concentration and deeper reading of digital content by introducing gentle background audio.
Designed to sit just above silence without becoming distracting, the feature aims to support neurodivergent users and people experiencing cognitive fatigue when reading longer or more complex information online.
The idea emerged through a series of product development workshops led by Recite Me colleagues Katie Jackson, Product Team Manager & Jessica Witson Customer Success Manager after discussions with Orpheus highlighted the challenges many students face in securing work experience opportunities.
In response, Recite Me delivered six sessions with a selected group of students, introducing them to the product development process and the different roles involved in bringing digital products to life. Sessions covered areas including user research, design, development, testing, and accessibility.
During the programme, students were challenged to develop an idea they could collaboratively explore with the Recite Me team.
Conversations around audio, emotion and concentration quickly became a recurring theme. Students discussed the role audio plays in helping them regulate focus and manage cognitive load, which inspired the concept for Focus Audio.
As part of the project, students carried out their own user research within assemblies using QR codes and a live voting system to gather feedback on the types of sounds and audio environments they found most helpful for concentration and reading.
The Recite Me team then used this feedback to help shape and generate the final audio experience now available within the Toolbar.
Katie Jackson, Product Owner at Recite Me, said: “This project started as a way to provide students with practical exposure to product development, but it quickly became something much more collaborative.
“The students brought forward ideas and lived experiences that challenged us to think differently about focus, reading and digital accessibility.
“Focus Audio is a direct result of listening to them. It demonstrates the value of involving people with lived experience in shaping digital products and accessibility features.”
The launch reflects our ongoing commitment to co-design and ensuring people with lived experience help shape the accessibility solutions they use every day.
Have Questions or Feedback?
Contact us today! Our team is always eager to engage with the web accessibility community, learn from your experiences, and continually improve our products to support as many people as possible.
