Using Speech Recognition to Ease Mobility Issues

There are many ways you can make your computer more accessible for you or someone else who uses it with age related problems. In this multi part series, I will explore the built in settings you can adjust on your PC to make it more accessible for anyone with age related vision, hearing, or tactile problems.

Windows Vista has a built in speech recognition program that seniors with mobility issues can use instead of the keyboard and mouse to perform any task on the computer from opening programs and browsing the internet to writing emails and documents.

1. On the Start menu, select:

Control Panel.
Ease of Access.
Speech Recognition.

2. In Configure your Speech Recognition experience, select:

Start Speech Recognition.
The first time you select Start Speech Recognition you'll be taken through setting up your microphone and the Speech Tutorial. You'll also be given the option to set Speech Recognition to start each time you log on to your computer.