A screen reader does not see a page. It reads a structure: headings it can jump between, paragraphs, lists, links it can pull into a menu, tables with rows and columns it can navigate cell by cell, and text alternatives for images. When those things exist, a blind reader moves through a document about as fast as a sighted one. When they do not, the reader is left with a single wall of text, a list of links that all say “click here,” or, in the case of a scanned image saved as a PDF, nothing at all. Magnifier users, people with dyslexia who use text-to-speech, people reading on a phone and anyone using a translation tool depend on the same structure.
The good news is that the tools you already use make structure easy if you use them as intended. Headings come from the Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 styles, not from bold and a larger font. Lists come from the list buttons, not from typed dashes. Tables are for data, with a marked header row and no merged cells, not for layout. Every image that carries meaning gets alt text that says what it shows in the context of the document; a purely decorative image is marked decorative. Links are written as the name of the destination, “Renewal instructions,” not “click here” or a raw address. Color is never the only way information is conveyed, so a chart uses labels as well as color and a required field is marked with text as well as red. Text and background have strong contrast, and body text is a clear sans-serif font at a comfortable size. Save from that source to a tagged PDF rather than printing to PDF, and run the built-in accessibility checker before you send.
Plain language is part of the same discipline. Federal plain-language guidelines and DHS writing guidance say the same things: know who the reader is and what they need to do, put the action and the deadline first, use short sentences and familiar words, define a term the first time it appears, use one idea per paragraph, address the reader as you, and prefer active voice. A renewal notice that says in its first line, “Return this form by the date below to keep your benefits,” has done more for accessibility than any font choice. Plain language helps people with cognitive disabilities, people reading in a second language, people under stress, and everyone else.
