Visually impaired programmer tackles webpage accessibility

AMMAN — In this era of information, accessibility should be a priority in website design to allow for more inclusive opportunities for persons with disabilities, says 33-year-old Ahmad Masri, a computer programmer with a disability.

“From the womb of suffering, hope is born,” is Masri’s motto, he told The Jordan Times. Masri was born with a complete visual imparity and has had a passion for programming since the eighth grade. 

Masri said that web accessibility often gets “put on the backburner” during website creation. As a result, the full potential of the Internet remains largely inaccessible for people with disabilities.

To combat this issue, Masri decided to devote his life to building his coding skills and enhancing website accessibility for persons with disabilities.

 “My job is to build user-friendly websites for the visually impaired,” Masri said.

In the pre-digital era, reading a newsletter, magazine, or other type of print content required visually impaired people to find an audio version, use the Braille system, or have someone read it out loud, Masri said. 

Today, thanks to the Internet, people with disabilities have better options. 

“Visually impaired people can use screen reader software or use assistive devices when browsing the Internet,” Masri said. 

Screen readers are software programmes that convert text and other content on a website into synthesised speech, allowing users to access and interact with content in alternative ways, he added.

“Users can let this device read everything from top to bottom, one line at a time,” he said. The technology can also read and describe images, magnify small images, enhance colour and resolution. 

“However, the technology I utilise when creating websites is designed specifically for visually impaired users,” Masri said.

Masri’s technology is particularly useful for the visually impaired, because it can “detect the structure of a web page and pass the information to the user accordingly”. 

“We also added a screen magnifying feature,” Masri said. 

“Web accessibility technology simplified my life in so many ways. It is helping me to do so many things more independently,” Masri stated.