Sam Proulx

" Teams are shrinking and budgets cut, so AI is no longer a toy but a necessary augmentation tool. "

" Accepting multiple payment providers is an accessibility win that benefits every customer. "

" Multiple payment providers is such a huge contributor to accessibility that people don’t usually think about. "

" Using assistive technology is a skill, not something you can just pick up and be effective with. "

" Frequency and memorability in staff training is critical for accessible in-person service. "

" Screen readers aren’t one-size-fits-all; nobody uses the screen reader with the out-of-the-box settings. "

" Customizability allows users to tailor experiences because no two disabilities are the same. "

" The screen reader is going to be the all-important all-consuming driver of why and how that decision gets made. "

" Accessibility isn’t just a third-party add-on; it’s now a first-party responsibility for developers and designers alike. "

" If you focus on desktop accessibility, you’re leaving out some of your most important users who may have mobile-only access. "

" Accessibility is a process, not a project, and needs to be integrated into every sprint cycle. "

" Accessibility is no longer an unusual hack but a responsibility of all of us creating products. "

" One in five people experience disability right now. "

" On desktop, you have different screen readers and browsers that behave differently; on mobile, there’s one consistent screen reader kept up to date by the OS. "

" There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. "

" Mobile phones have a lot of built-in accessibility features that are ready to go without needing to install or configure anything extra. "

" Every feature that started out for people with disabilities has in some way become mainstream. "

" The Apple 3GS and the accessibility technology built into it was a massive shift for people with disabilities. "

" For cognitive disabilities, features like Focus mode that limit notifications are a significant accessibility win. "

" I have never found a product where I’ve just had to throw up my hands and say, nope, can’t make this one accessible. "

" It can be very useful to put key status information, like new messages, into the page title so screen readers can alert users automatically. "

" Breaking tasks into little chunks avoids the confusion of talking while the screen reader is talking. "

" Screen reader users can’t interpret visual prototypes because prototypes lack the semantic information screen readers rely on. "

" Control labels need to be consistent because people using voice dictation rely on those labels to interact with controls. "

" You don’t listen to every element on the page; you skim the top and drill down exactly where you want. "

" If I’m talking over my screen reader, the researcher has no idea what either of us is saying. "

" Changing a button visually without updating the semantic state causes screen readers to miss important feedback. "

" The primary customization for screen reader users is speed — expert users can listen to synthetic voices at over 300 words per minute and fully understand. "