ENABLE Scotland's website has speech and reading support tools in a bid to make the site easier to use

A charity is aiming to break down digital barriers with the launch of its new website.

ENABLE Scotland has created a site which is accessible to people who have a range of support needs, including visual and hearing impairment, autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities.

According to a recent report by Ofcom, people who have a disability are less likely to use the internet than people without a disability. Those who have a learning disability are most likely to say their disability impacts their use of communications services such as the internet.

The charity carried out a detailed audit of its online content while consulting its members on the challenges they faced when accessing online information.

Theresa Shearer, chief executive of ENABLE Scotland, said: “We worked extremely hard to listen to the feedback from our members to develop a website that is accessible to many more people and families who may need our support, or who may want to join our campaigns or get involved with ENABLE Scotland in other ways.”

Using BrowseAloud software, the new website adds speech and reading support tools to online content, including a read aloud feature which is available in multiple languages.

Users are also able to save content of audio onto an MP3 file and listen to it later and magnify and change the colour of text and background to make it easier to read.

A simplifier setting removes clutter such as adverts from the screen, making content even more accessible and user-friendly.