Two settings & a bonus feature to make your Mac more friendly

Sent in by Chris, he has a few settings that can a Mac more dyslexic friendly.

To get white on black text in apps and menus https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208976

The get your mac to read back any on screen text that is selectable set up this short cut key:
System preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts -> App Shortc…
click “+” (below the list on the right)
Application = “All Applications”
Menu Title= “Start Speaking”
Keyboard Shortcut =
click “add”

Select any text on screen then press the key combination you set up.
Warning, this only works on native MacOS application and if you press the buttons, having not selected text it will read the whole document and won’t stop!

Bonus feature, want to dictate to you mac?
Place the curser where you want the text, double tap the “fn” key and start speaking.
press “fn” once to stop.

More info on dictation here; https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh40584/mac

Note: Correct as of Mac OS 11.6 Big Sur

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In this podcast episode, Elizabeth Takyi shares her inspiring journey from a traumatic childhood in Ghana, where she was penalized for poor spelling and experienced the cane in the classroom, leading to feelings of inadequacy. After moving to the UK for secondary education and facing disassociation with schooling, she eventually left an abusive relationship.

Determined to prove her worth, Elizabeth enrolled in a college HR course but faced initial failure. It was only later that she discovered her Dyslexia and Dyspraxia, leading to a search for answers in the pre-Google era. With college support and assistive technology, she excelled in subsequent years.

With newfound confidence, Elizabeth founded “Aspire2 Inspire,” offering support to dyslexic business owners and others. She now serves as a neurobox ambassador, raising awareness about dyslexia and intersectionality. Despite being a single mother of three, Elizabeth continues to inspire through her resilience.

Key topics covered include childhood trauma, leaving an abusive relationship, discovering and overcoming dyslexia, supporting dyslexic entrepreneurs, navigating job searches with dyslexia, and finding one’s sense of belonging.