WEB accessibility specialist Recite Me has launched a new feature within its Assistive Toolbar following a collaborative product development project with students from Orpheus Centre, a specialist independent college for young disabled adults.
The Recite Me Assistive Toolbar is a customisable accessibility and language support tool used by organisations to help people access online content in the way that works best for them. The Toolbar offers a range of features including text-to-speech functionality, reading aids, customisable styling options, translation into more than 100 languages, and tools designed to support people with disabilities, neurodivergent users and those with literacy or language needs.
The new feature, called Focus Audio, is designed to support concentration and deeper reading of digital content by introducing gentle background audio. Designed to sit just above silence without becoming distracting, the feature aims to support neurodivergent users and people experiencing cognitive fatigue when reading longer or more complex information online.
The idea emerged through a series of product development workshops led by Katie Jackson, Product Team Manager & Jessica Witson Customer Success Manager at Recite Me after discussions with Orpheus highlighted the challenges many students face in securing work experience opportunities.
In response, Recite Me delivered six sessions with a selected group of students, introducing them to the product development process and the different roles involved in bringing digital products to life. Sessions covered areas including user research, design, development, testing and accessibility.
During the programme, students were challenged to develop an idea they could collaboratively explore with the Recite Me team.
Conversations around audio, emotion and concentration quickly became a recurring theme. Students discussed the role audio plays in helping them regulate focus and manage cognitive load, which inspired the concept for Focus Audio.
As part of the project, students carried out their own user research within assemblies using QR codes and a live voting system to gather feedback on the types of sounds and audio environments they found most helpful for concentration and reading.
The Recite Me team then used this feedback to help shape and generate the final audio experience now available within the Toolbar.
This project started as a way to provide students with practical exposure to product development, but it quickly became something much more collaborative.Katie Jackson – Product Owner at Recite Me
The students brought forward ideas and lived experiences that challenged us to think differently about focus, reading and digital accessibility.
Focus Audio is a direct result of listening to them. It demonstrates the value of involving people with lived experience in shaping digital products and accessibility features.
The opportunity for our students to work directly with a technology company and contribute to the development of a real product feature has been incredibly valuable.Sharon Tomlins – Transitions Manager, Orpheus Centre
It gave students hands-on experience of the product development process while also showing how their perspectives and experiences can directly influence inclusive technology.
I felt quite proud of us as a group as we all went through the process of developing a product and knowing that the people at Recite Me liked the ideas so much that they used their resources to create a product that was inspired by our ideas.Daniel Smith – Student, Orpheus Centre
It was really cool. They clearly listened to what we wanted to work on and took that and elevated it to a professional level.
My favourite part of working with the Recite Me team was going through the process of developing the product and getting to do the process step by step. The skills I gained were designing, working with employers and being confident with working on a task independently while simultaneously working as a team.
The Recite Me team worked collaboratively with Orpheus and the students’ voices were listened to and put at the centre of the product creation.Josie Regan – SEND Work Experience Coach, Orpheus Centre
Thank you to Katie and Jess. It was great to be involved in a project where our ideas were listened to and helped shape something that can support other people.
Inspired by the collaboration, Focus Audio has now been integrated into the Recite Me Toolbar as part of the company’s wider mission to support more inclusive digital experiences.
The audio styles explored during the project were influenced by wider research into focus and concentration, particularly around low-distraction instrumental and ambient sound.
Using the feedback gathered by students, the Recite Me team then developed a series of gentle background audio options designed to sit subtly behind on-screen reading without overwhelming the user experience.
The launch is the latest in a string of innovations from Recite Me’s ongoing focus on creating practical tools that support accessibility, inclusion and personalised digital experiences for a wide range of users.
