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How long did it take to get comfortable with using Voiceover? (self.Blind)
submitted by ParticleOutbreak
I’ll try and make this somewhat short. I [21F] was born premature at 26/27 weeks, and spent a little over 6 weeks in NICU, I’ve had eye problems since I could remember. I’ve been seeing my optho since the 2nd grade after my teacher was concerned I was having seizures but in reality my eyesight was just very shitty.
I have no other health problems I’m aware of, but over the years I’ve been losing the ability to focus my eyes. I’ve tried everything possible, VT, cyclopentolate drops, I’ve seen numerous specialists. Done all the imaging, testing, correction possible that I could afford. I was scheduled to see a neuro-optho 2 years ago but covid happened and they went to emergency only for awhile. I was kicked off my dads insurance and it’s no longer covered.
I’m originally farsighted, last prescription I was at +6 OS, +6.75 OD, I think. I had relief with the dilation drops in conjunction with my prescription and some reading glasses for near work, but I heard they weren’t good for you long term. My doctors constantly think it’s stress, and while I understand mental health can play a huge role in how it affects your sight, therapy has never given me relief when I start getting overwhelmed. And I go religiously.
Anyway, I no longer have vision insurance, and I don’t qualify for CLE for an IOL because I’m too young and they don’t feel comfortable operating because I can’t keep a stable prescription without using dilation. I can’t receive any help accommodating myself because no one knows what’s wrong besides stress.
I’ve been using voiceover on my iPhone + the largest font available and it’s easy but Voiceover is incredibly hard to use. Any tutorials out there that can help me better? Do I need to find someone to teach me? It’s the only I way I can use my phone comfortably with the way my eyes are right now.
TL;DR: Healthy 21F have always had bad sight but over the years it’s been getting worse, I use voiceover because it’s easier for myself but still get frustrated with it. Any tutorials or guidance? Thanks!
I have no other health problems I’m aware of, but over the years I’ve been losing the ability to focus my eyes. I’ve tried everything possible, VT, cyclopentolate drops, I’ve seen numerous specialists. Done all the imaging, testing, correction possible that I could afford. I was scheduled to see a neuro-optho 2 years ago but covid happened and they went to emergency only for awhile. I was kicked off my dads insurance and it’s no longer covered.
I’m originally farsighted, last prescription I was at +6 OS, +6.75 OD, I think. I had relief with the dilation drops in conjunction with my prescription and some reading glasses for near work, but I heard they weren’t good for you long term. My doctors constantly think it’s stress, and while I understand mental health can play a huge role in how it affects your sight, therapy has never given me relief when I start getting overwhelmed. And I go religiously.
Anyway, I no longer have vision insurance, and I don’t qualify for CLE for an IOL because I’m too young and they don’t feel comfortable operating because I can’t keep a stable prescription without using dilation. I can’t receive any help accommodating myself because no one knows what’s wrong besides stress.
I’ve been using voiceover on my iPhone + the largest font available and it’s easy but Voiceover is incredibly hard to use. Any tutorials out there that can help me better? Do I need to find someone to teach me? It’s the only I way I can use my phone comfortably with the way my eyes are right now.
TL;DR: Healthy 21F have always had bad sight but over the years it’s been getting worse, I use voiceover because it’s easier for myself but still get frustrated with it. Any tutorials or guidance? Thanks!
AllHarlowsEve 7 points 1y ago
I seem to post $1 a ton, but the table in it is so helpful. It's a little out of date, especially since it references the home button, but honestly, it helped me so much when I started to actually learn how to properly use my phone.
Applevis.com will also be a good resource to check out, and I'm pretty sure there's a million and one youtube videos and podcasts if you'd prefer that.
Applevis.com will also be a good resource to check out, and I'm pretty sure there's a million and one youtube videos and podcasts if you'd prefer that.
DHamlinMusic 4 points 1y ago
Not on Apple myself but can say it does take time to get the hang of using talkback or voiceover.
BlindWizard 2 points 1y ago
Is there a resource for learning? Talk back?
DHamlinMusic 1 points 1y ago
Not sure actually.
akrazyho 3 points 1y ago
I wanted to put everything in one comment since I made a massive comments when you asked the one question about answering a phone call with voiceover
Two finger double tap to answer a call two finger double tap to hang up a call and it doesn’t matter where you’re at on screen. Also when you have any tax field highlighted you can start dictation by doing a two finger double tap and end dictation with a two finger double tap. *text
Two finger double tap will also play and pause music videos audiobooks or whatever the case may be.
Two finger Single tap will stop VoiceOver from reading things and also restart it from reading things but you must restart it within a certain time..
I also wanted to add it some three finger gestures. Three finger swipe from left to right or up and down will help you move through Pages and also have you move through a page full of the menu items. Three finger double tap will turn on and off speech for voiceover which isn’t very helpful if you can’t see the screen. Three finger triple tap will turn on and off screen curtain which is very useful for a blind person. Using screen curtain is an amazing battery saver because it’ll turn off your screen and save you a ton of battery life. It will also keep whatever’s on your phone private because the screen is off. Lastly it can help save your screen if you have a newer iPhone by avoiding burning for example if you have YouTube open for an extended period of time you could potentially have burning from the play paws watching full screen button and more options button so you would want to turn off your screen during extended sessions like that. Screen curtain is great and if you get to the point where looking at the phone is pointless then I would suggest that you start using it. Even though screen curtains on it still gives you full access to the phone.
Three finger quadruple tap will copy whatever voiceover just read for example if you wanna copy a coupon code it can do that.
Bonus two finger I also wanted to add some general settings that you should set up first for voiceover.
In the accessibility menu the accessibility shortcut should be set to voiceover. This will turn on and turn off voiceover if you triple tap the power button which is useful if you need a hand your phone over to a sighted person so you can quickly turn it on and off.
Under accessibility voiceover and typing you wanna set the typing style to touch typing. This will make it so you can just select the letter on the keyboard and lift your finger to input the letter which makes typing a whole lot more easier than the standard select the letter double tap to input the letter.
You also would want to change the keyboard interaction time in this menu I have set mine 4 seconds. What this does i. The standard option for having a letter before it gives you the alternate options is too quick that’s why I bumped mine up to four seconds. *hovering
Bonus tip you can do a quick Z pattern of two fingers to back out of the selection.
Two finger double tap to answer a call two finger double tap to hang up a call and it doesn’t matter where you’re at on screen. Also when you have any tax field highlighted you can start dictation by doing a two finger double tap and end dictation with a two finger double tap. *text
Two finger double tap will also play and pause music videos audiobooks or whatever the case may be.
Two finger Single tap will stop VoiceOver from reading things and also restart it from reading things but you must restart it within a certain time..
I also wanted to add it some three finger gestures. Three finger swipe from left to right or up and down will help you move through Pages and also have you move through a page full of the menu items. Three finger double tap will turn on and off speech for voiceover which isn’t very helpful if you can’t see the screen. Three finger triple tap will turn on and off screen curtain which is very useful for a blind person. Using screen curtain is an amazing battery saver because it’ll turn off your screen and save you a ton of battery life. It will also keep whatever’s on your phone private because the screen is off. Lastly it can help save your screen if you have a newer iPhone by avoiding burning for example if you have YouTube open for an extended period of time you could potentially have burning from the play paws watching full screen button and more options button so you would want to turn off your screen during extended sessions like that. Screen curtain is great and if you get to the point where looking at the phone is pointless then I would suggest that you start using it. Even though screen curtains on it still gives you full access to the phone.
Three finger quadruple tap will copy whatever voiceover just read for example if you wanna copy a coupon code it can do that.
Bonus two finger I also wanted to add some general settings that you should set up first for voiceover.
In the accessibility menu the accessibility shortcut should be set to voiceover. This will turn on and turn off voiceover if you triple tap the power button which is useful if you need a hand your phone over to a sighted person so you can quickly turn it on and off.
Under accessibility voiceover and typing you wanna set the typing style to touch typing. This will make it so you can just select the letter on the keyboard and lift your finger to input the letter which makes typing a whole lot more easier than the standard select the letter double tap to input the letter.
You also would want to change the keyboard interaction time in this menu I have set mine 4 seconds. What this does i. The standard option for having a letter before it gives you the alternate options is too quick that’s why I bumped mine up to four seconds. *hovering
Bonus tip you can do a quick Z pattern of two fingers to back out of the selection.
Tasdigo 2 points 1y ago
This is an excellent post! I need to learn how to use voiceover as well and these tips are great.
TechnicalPragmatist 1 points 1y ago
This is pretty well put.
edharristx 3 points 1y ago
Start slow. The gestures can be intimidating, but you can navigate everything with just left or right swipe and one finger double tap to select. Third party apps that aren’t built for VO are really frustrating, don’t let that discourage you. Many people have an easier time learning with screen curtain. Trying to reference things visually can make VO seem like it’s not working.
ParticleOutbreak [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Thank you, I’ll definitely have to keep working on it. Just at my wits end with learning VO but not able to get any other help because my eye doctors don’t feel comfortable doing anything else because we don’t know the cause of my impairment. Thank you for the advice!
MostlyBlindGamer 3 points 1y ago
In my experience, doctors are more focused on the medical problem than on quality of life - they feel like they're failing, if you need accommodations instead of treatment or surgery. You can frame it this way for your doctor: "I really want us to figure out what's going on and find long-term solutions, but in the meantime it would make my life a lot easier if you could get me started on describing and quantifying my situation so I can get accommodations - just until we work this out."
In regards to your question on VoiceOver, practice is very important for scree readers, but you can also try using magnification.
In regards to your question on VoiceOver, practice is very important for scree readers, but you can also try using magnification.
ParticleOutbreak [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t see my optho until March so I’ll have to see what I can afford if they offer me alternatives I’m this next visit.
EyesR4Nerds 2 points 1y ago
Hi there! Are there any particular things you’re finding frustrating? I’m happy to help troubleshoot if I can!
ParticleOutbreak [OP] 1 points 1y ago
There’s just so many functions that it includes, I have a hard time answering calls that require swiping. Some apps are hard to navigate. I’m mostly self taught so anything is appreciated. I have the basics down. Accessing misspelled words, etc.
EyesR4Nerds 2 points 1y ago
It’s definitely a learning curve! In that case, I’d prioritize getting used to using a few basic features first, whichever you think would benefit you most right now. Slowly build in learning more once you’re comfortable, rather than trying to learn everything at the beginning. Hope that’s helpful, and can make the process more helpful and less overwhelming!
ParticleOutbreak [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Thank you so much, I’ll definitely be doing more of the basic shit first.
Nighthawk321 2 points 1y ago
To add to this, I hardly doubt any of us on /r/blind would mind answering Voiceover questions as they arise for you. Good luck!
TechnicalPragmatist 1 points 1y ago
Don’t swipe for calls double tap with two fingers.
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
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[deleted] 2 points 1y ago
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DHamlinMusic 2 points 1y ago
Thanks for the mentioning about curtain, on android myself but never paid attention to the "hide screen" option before.
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
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TechnicalPragmatist 1 points 1y ago
It only took me a month or less but I am a techy and I am already totally blind so voice over was the only way forward.
I am super technical and in the information technology space really.
I would say applevis.com is your best resource.
I am super technical and in the information technology space really.
I would say applevis.com is your best resource.
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