Accessability
Our aim is to ensure that all our customers have equal access to information produced by Optima.
What you will find on this page:
- Translate this site
- Alter the text size of these web pages.
- How to contact us if you need information in other formats.
- How long you can expect to wait for information in other formats.
- How to use Browsealoud to have the site read aloud to you.
- How to access free software to read the PDF documents on this site.
- Guidelines we follow to make this website as easy to use as possible, plus where you can find more information on this topic.
Translate this site
Google TM Translate Disclaimer
Text size
If you find the text on this site too small to read, you can increase it using the + and - buttons in the top right hand corner of each page.
Information in other formats
If you have difficulty in understanding any of the information we provide or need it in a different format such as:
Large print
Audio cassette
Braille
Translations - written or verbal
Signed Interpretation
Please contact us on 0121 687 3133.
Optima is a member of Language Line. This is a 24 hour telephone interpreting service. Language Line has access to qualified interpreters in over 100 languages.
How long can I expect to wait for information in a different format?
It is hard to be precise as we provide information in different formats on demand through other organisations. If you need a written foreign language translation, an 8 page leaflet would typically take 5 working days. A verbal translation over the phone is typically carried out on the day, normally while you wait. Large print can normally be provided in 5 - 10 working days. In other cases such as braille and audio cassette, we would let you know when to expect your document after talking with our supplier.
Browsealoud: Speech Enabling Our Website
This website is now speech-enabled, which means that you can download free software onto your personal computer and have the site read aloud to you.
The free software is called Browsealoud, and is used on over 2000 websites in the UK and USA. Browsealoud is a Windows browser plug-in. If you install the Browsealoud plugin onto your PC or Mac, you can have the web pages on this website read to you (as well as any other sites that are speech-enabled).
Speech enabling our website provides an additional way of accessing our content for people who find it hard to read. This includes those with dyslexia or learning difficulties, those for whom English is not their first language, or anyone with a mild visual impairment. It is not designed to replace other screen readers.
Browsealoud is a solution that allows you to have website content read to you. As you move the cursor over text, it is spoken aloud. Browsealoud is free to download and you have control over the voice, word pronunciations and speech highlighting.
How does it work?
You download a free, small browser plug-in. Once the plug-in has been installed, content on this site can be spoken aloud.
Does it work on all pages?
Browsealoud will read every webpage on our site. It can also read pdfs in Adobe Reader Version 6.0 onwards. This meets the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Level A guidelines for accessibility.
Can I customise Browsealoud?
Yes. Once plugged in, look for the browsealoud icon in your system tray, which is usually at the bottom right hand corner of your screen (beside the system clock). Right click on the icon and choose 'open browsealoud settings' from the menu. The speech tab on the settings window enables you to choose a male or female voice, and change the speed, pitch and volume of the reader. To read the entire page from where your cursor points, check the 'Continue reading from pointer' box. Otherwise Browsealoud will only read the individual sentences you point to.
For further help and assistance with the Browsealoud product take a look at the Browsealoud FAQs on their website.
Downloading Browsealoud
Click on the link below and you will be taken to an external site where you will find full instructions to carry out the download and installation. A Browsealoud icon will be placed in your system tray which is at the bottom right of your browser.
PDFs
Many of the documents available on this site are in PDF format. This requires Adobe Reader for viewing. You can download this package free from Adobe.com.
We recognise that visually impaired users might have difficulty accessing these files.
Visit http://access.adobe.com for free tools that will convert PDFs to plain text or HTML, and for further information about PDFs and accessibility.
Website
This website has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible. To acheive this we conform with the World Wide Web Consortium's (WC3) content accessibility guidelines at a level of AA.
Please have a look at the links below for more detailed information on this topic.
AbilityNet
The web site is AbilityNet please click on this link to view the site.
BBC
You may also be interested in viewing the BBC web site for accessibility. The BBC offers good advice for other computing platforms as well. BBC web site 'My web My way'
Last updated: 05-08-2010
