About Speaking Access

Why I Built Speaking Access

Speaking Access didn’t start as a software idea — it started the moment I watched a customer who was blind from birth use a computer with no screen. He was moving through his system confidently using a screen reader, and as a sighted person who had never seen that before, it honestly changed something in me.

I went home that night, downloaded NVDA, made a donation, and tried using a computer the way he did. And that’s when it hit me: if you haven’t grown up using a screen reader, learning hundreds of keyboard shortcuts later in life is more than just difficult — it’s discouraging. Many people lose their vision as they get older, and returning to the computer can feel overwhelming.

What I kept coming back to was how much easier it is to use plain language. Saying “copy selection” is easier than remembering a shortcut. Saying “browser address bar” or “next heading” is easier than figuring out what key does what. So I started building something where you could control most of your computer by simply speaking the words you already know.

As I kept developing it, I noticed something: the same voice-based approach worked beautifully for dyslexic users, seniors, and anyone who finds the keyboard painful or confusing. It didn’t need extra hardware, scripts, or complicated setup — just the program and a screen reader.

It took five years of refining, testing, breaking things, fixing things, and listening to real users. I kept the price low on purpose, because the people who need this shouldn’t have to buy extra equipment or expensive add-ons.

Speaking Access exists because using a computer shouldn’t be about memorizing shortcuts or fighting with setup. It should feel smooth, natural, and simple — something you can rely on every day without extra effort.

— Christopher Mutch, developer of Speaking Access