Meet the Fable Community: Caitlin W.
- Pronouns: She/her
- Time zone: EST
- Languages spoken: English
Caitlin is in her thirties and is a blind screen reader user. She primarily uses a Windows laptop and an iPhone to navigate digital experiences. Her assistive technologies include VoiceOver for iPhone and the JAWS (Job Access with Speech) screen reader on her laptop, with NVDA (Nonvisual Desktop Access) as a backup option.
Caitlin’s background and interests
Caitlin likes spending time with her partner, extended family, and semi-retired German Shepherd guide dog, Fancy. She’s currently on the wait list for a running guide dog. Caitlin also enjoys relaxing with music, audio books, and listening to gameplay walkthroughs on YouTube.
“A big part of my childhood was playing video games and watching my brother and friends play video games,” she says. “Once I fully lost my vision, I couldn’t do that anymore and it made me really sad. I’ve found a few YouTubers who play video games for people to fall asleep to, which means they’re describing a lot of what they’re doing and it makes me so happy.”
Caitlin’s assistive technology and adaptations
Caitlin adopted screen readers, Braille display, and audiobooks once technology became a big part of her life in elementary school.
“I got JAWS access when I was 13 because the screen readers I was relying on weren’t that great,” she says. “JAWS opened up my world. It’s really intuitive and easy to use.”
Caitlin’s top accessibility pain points
One recurring issue Caitlin runs into on both her iPhone and laptop is navigating pop-ups. Her screen reader doesn’t always move focus to new elements that appear on the page. Instead, it keeps navigating the webpage or app behind the pop-up so she isn’t aware that the new element has appeared.
“Recently, I was trying to press enter on a link on the page and it wasn’t working because the cookie dialog needed to be cleared. JAWS didn’t automatically hop into it,” she explains. “When I can’t clear a dialog myself, I have to refresh the page and quickly navigate to where I want to go before the dialog appears again.”
What Caitlin wishes more design and product teams knew about digital accessibility
Seeing is believing. Caitlin has experienced the a-ha moments the people working in design and product development have when they observe her interacting with their apps and web pages.
“The first time I did a user interview through Fable, someone from the customer company was on a call watching me navigate,” she says. “They didn’t realize how complicated some of the things I deal with online can be, and they said it was great to see firsthand. It was really eye-opening.”
Why Caitlin chose to work with Fable
Caitlin has worked in the accessibility field in the past and it continues to be one of her dream jobs. The work with Fable fits perfectly with both her professional and personal goals.
“I love working with Fable because it’s so flexible. Plus, I don’t have to reach out to a company cold about trying to fix an accessibility issue,” she says. “With Fable, the requests come to me and I get to work directly with companies to brainstorm accessibility fixes.”
