--- title: "Blind and Locked Out: Three Halloween 2026 Accessibility Scares" description: Explore three critical accessibility barriers faced by screen reader users, highlighting issues in banking, telehealth, and customer service that demand urgent attention. image: https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Halloween%20Blog.png --- - [skip to menu](https://blog.usablenet.com/blind-and-locked-out-three-halloween-2026-accessibility-scares#nav) - [skip to content](https://blog.usablenet.com/blind-and-locked-out-three-halloween-2026-accessibility-scares#main-content) - [skip to footer](https://blog.usablenet.com/blind-and-locked-out-three-halloween-2026-accessibility-scares#footer) Test the accessibility of your website for free! Try UsableNet AQA. 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[Take our Quiz](https://info.usablenet.com/website-accessibility-remediation-quiz) - Resources ## Resources [E-books & Guides](https://usablenet.com/resources?contentType=E-books%20and%20Guides) [Case Studies](https://usablenet.com/resources?contentType=Case%20Studies) [Reports](https://usablenet.com/resources?contentType=Reports) [Webinars](https://usablenet.com/resources?contentType=Webinars) [Tools](https://usablenet.com/resources?contentType=Tools) [All Resources](https://usablenet.com/resources) ## Essential Resources [ADA accessibility lawsuit tracker](https://info.usablenet.com/ada-website-compliance-lawsuit-tracker?__hstc=181257784.2243d86205d8f41e204908d6f6578263.1725908600455.1736198093211.1736205902814.174&__hssc=181257784.1.1736205902814&__hsfp=3011104808) [Checklist: how to achieve and maintain digital accessibility](https://info.usablenet.com/digital-website-accessibility-checklist?__hstc=181257784.2243d86205d8f41e204908d6f6578263.1725908600455.1736198093211.1736205902814.174&__hssc=181257784.1.1736205902814&__hsfp=3011104808) [Which remediation approach is right for me?](https://info.usablenet.com/website-accessibility-remediation-quiz?__hstc=181257784.2243d86205d8f41e204908d6f6578263.1725908600455.1736198093211.1736205902814.174&__hssc=181257784.1.1736205902814&__hsfp=3011104808) [A Primer on ADA and Digital Accessibility](https://info.usablenet.com/a-primer-on-ada-and-digital-accessibility?__hstc=181257784.2243d86205d8f41e204908d6f6578263.1725908600455.1736198093211.1736205902814.174&__hssc=181257784.1.1736205902814&__hsfp=3011104808) The EAA is in Effect — Is Your Website Compliant? [Get Help with EN 301 549 Compliance](https://info.usablenet.com/eaa-en-301-549-compliance?__hstc=181257784.2243d86205d8f41e204908d6f6578263.1725908600455.1736198093211.1736205902814.174&__hssc=181257784.1.1736205902814&__hsfp=3011104808) - Who We Serve ## Industry [E-commerce and Consumer Goods](https://info.usablenet.com/industries-e-commerce-consumer-goods) [Food Service and Hospitality](https://info.usablenet.com/-industries-food-service-hospitality) [Banking and Financial Services](https://info.usablenet.com/industries-financial-services) [Healthcare](https://info.usablenet.com/industries-healthcare) [Technology and Business Services](https://info.usablenet.com/-industries-technology-and-business-services) [Public Sector and Education](https://info.usablenet.com/industries-public-sector-and-education) ## Compliance [Canadian Accessibility Laws](https://info.usablenet.com/compliance-canada) [European Accessibility Laws](https://info.usablenet.com/compliance-europe) [Other International Accessibility](https://info.usablenet.com/compliance-international) [United States Accessibility Laws](https://info.usablenet.com/compliance-united-states) 2026 Midyear report on digital accessibility lawsuits in the US [Download Now](https://info.usablenet.com/2026-midyear-report) - [Pricing](https://usablenet.com/pricing) - [Blog](https://blog.usablenet.com/) - [About Us](https://usablenet.com/about-us) [Get a Demo](https://info.usablenet.com/contact) # Blind and Locked Out: Three Halloween 2026 Accessibility Scares **By** [Michael Taylor](https://blog.usablenet.com/author/michael-taylor) on Oct 30, 2026 **Topics:** [Web Accessibility](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/web-accessibility), [User Experience](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/user-experience) 0 Comments - - - ![jackolantern](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Halloween%20Blog.png) *Michael Taylor has used a screen reader for almost twenty years, and in this series he writes firsthand about what websites and apps sound like when he cannot rely on what is on the screen.* *In this Halloween post, he covers three barriers that ended a task outright: a bill payment account list with no names, telehealth meeting controls his screen reader could not find, and a customer service chat field stuck in “Read Only.” You can check each of these on your own site or app. New to the topic? Start with [what a screen reader is and how it works](https://blog.usablenet.com/what-is-a-screen-reader).* I can hardly believe it, but Halloween is only a few days away, and what’s even scarier than how fast this time of year flies are some of the accessibility issues I have run into lately. These weren't a few ghosts or ghouls howling in the distance, but an onslaught of skeletons and vampires trying to throw me to the werewolves. In this post, I will walk through three screen reader experiences that weren't minor annoyances I could work around, but total showstoppers that made me take refuge and abandon my mission. All accessibility issues are problematic, but total blockers like these are absolutely unacceptable and must be designed against at all costs. Bats and Banking I recently started using a new credit card, and it was finally time to pay the first bill. I have used some of this bank’s other services in the past and never had any notable issues. That being said, I had never used its bill payment system before. I followed the prompts in the mobile app, but I got stuck when I was asked to select a payment account. I have several other accounts with this bank, and they all appeared in the list. However, my screen reader did not read any of the account names, numbers, balances, or other data displayed on the screen. After the heading asking me to choose a pay-from account, I heard three announcements in a row of “Unselected, Button.” There was no way to hear each account option and pick the right one. That made the system completely unusable for me. Unless I wanted to take a shot in the dark and select a random option, there was no way to proceed. This is one of those many times when I had to ask a sighted person for help. Healthcare Horrors A few weeks ago, I had a virtual office visit with a healthcare provider that uses video chat software for all telehealth appointments. Shortly before the visit, I got an email with a link to the video chat. When I followed the link, it opened a new browser window, and the appointment session launched automatically. That is where my progress came to an abrupt halt, because none of the meeting controls were accessible to my screen reader. The icon buttons for toggling the microphone and camera, sending written messages, and other meeting actions were not spoken at all when I focused on the video chat interface. It was simply impossible to find these options and move focus to them. On top of that, the microphone was muted by default when the meeting launched, so I had no way to interact with the provider. After a few minutes of unsuccessful troubleshooting, I had to give up and reschedule. I was incredibly frustrated because this provider is tightly booked, and I had waited a while for this appointment. Ghosts in the Chatroom So much customer service these days is handled through online chats with virtual agents. These are notoriously problematic for accessibility for many reasons, but that is a topic for another day. I had one particularly poor experience recently that made the system completely unusable. I was sent the wrong power cord for a product I ordered, and I wanted to contact the company to get it corrected. This company has virtually eliminated phone-based customer service, so I ended up with a chatbot. Ironically, the button to start a help chat was accessible. I hit a roadblock shortly after the chat window launched. I listened to the generic introductory message and found the text field for my name and order number. I could locate the field and focus on it, but I could not enter any text. I quickly realized why. The field was announced as “Read Only,” which means it could not accept text entry. Some text fields are designed to appear that way, but I normally associate this announcement with accessibility issues. I asked a sighted person for help, and they told me nothing about the field looked abnormal, such as being grayed out, that would suggest it could not be edited. When I turned off my screen reader, they could click into the field and type normally. When I turned it back on, the field was once again announced as “Read Only.” Clearly, something in this website’s code made the chat’s text field completely inaccessible to my screen reader. Again, I couldn't complete the task on my own. Back to the Pumpkin Patch After braving these scary experiences, I need to spend some time in the pumpkin patch with the friendlier spirits of good digital accessibility. I hope this helps show the kinds of issues that can really ruin the experience for screen reader users as the digital world becomes more nuanced. Screen Reader Accessibility FAQ **Why can’t a screen reader select a payment account in a banking app?** When every account option is announced only as “Unselected, Button,” a screen reader user has no way to tell the accounts apart. In this post, the bill payment list never spoke an account name, number, or balance, so the only choices were guessing or asking a sighted person for help. **Can blind patients use telehealth video visits with a screen reader?** Not when the meeting controls are never announced to the screen reader. In the visit described here, the microphone, camera, and messaging buttons could not be found, and the microphone started muted, so the appointment had to be rescheduled. **Why does a screen reader announce a chat text field as “Read Only”?** A field announced as “Read Only” cannot accept typing from a screen reader user, even when it looks and works normally for everyone else. In this case, the field accepted text as soon as the screen reader was turned off, which points to a problem in the site’s code rather than a field that was meant to be locked. How to Check Your Site Each of these barriers came down to the screen reader saying nothing useful when a task depended on it. On your own site or app, check whether every option in a selection list (payment accounts, saved cards, addresses) announces a real name and not just “Button,” whether meeting or media controls can be reached and are announced, and whether chat and form fields accept typing with a screen reader running. None of these show up just by looking at the screen, which is why they tend to survive testing; our post on [what screen reader users wish developers and QA teams understood](https://blog.usablenet.com/what-i-wish-developers-and-qa-teams-understood-about-screen-readers) covers where that gap comes from. Barriers that stop someone from paying a bill, attending an appointment, or reaching customer service are the same kind that show up in accessibility complaints, and finding one is a reason to look at the rest of the journey rather than a single fix. You can review [what ADA web accessibility requirements mean for your organization](https://info.usablenet.com/compliance-united-states) here. If your team doesn't have the developer bandwidth to address these issues, UsableNet Assistive is a managed service where our developers remediate and maintain accessibility issues on your live site through a JavaScript layer, with legal indemnity included under the terms of the agreement. [Schedule a consultation](https://info.usablenet.com/contact) to talk through what your payment, scheduling, and support flows sound like to a screen reader user. ![Michael Taylor](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Michael%20Taylor-4.jpg) ### [Michael Taylor](https://blog.usablenet.com/author/michael-taylor) I am a regular contributor to the UsableNet blog on digital accessibility. I develop, write, and edit content for the company blog related to my experiences with digital accessibility. I explore various areas of the digital world and combine my unique perspective as a screen reader user with my fun and creative writing style to deliver an informative and engaging final product. My goal is to advance the company's marketing initiatives while also raising awareness about digital accessibility and how it affects the lives of real-world assistive technology users. My work covers everything from common accessibility challenges to robust and accessible design to tutorial-like content for specific web elements. - - - - ### Related posts ![Blind Users And Payment Forms: Where Adding A Card Breaks Down](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/bigcommerce-ada-compliance.webp) [Blind Users And Payment Forms: Where Adding A Card Breaks Down](https://blog.usablenet.com/blind-users-and-payment-forms-where-adding-a-card-breaks-down) Oct 27, 2026 ![Website Login Accessibility: Where Sign-In Fails Blind Users](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/developer-fixing-accessibility-code-issues.jpg) [Website Login Accessibility: Where Sign-In Fails Blind Users](https://blog.usablenet.com/website-login-accessibility-where-sign-in-fails-blind-users) Oct 21, 2026 ![WCAG 3.0 Is Coming. Here’s Why Your WCAG 2.2 Work Still Matters Most](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/questions.webp) [WCAG 3.0 Is Coming. Here’s Why Your WCAG 2.2 Work Still Matters Most](https://blog.usablenet.com/wcag-3.0-is-coming.-heres-why-your-wcag-2.2-work-still-matters-most) Oct 14, 2026 ![Don't Trust The Number, Understand the Number: Lessons from 100 Audits](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Web-Accessibility-Initiative-4-Step-Action-Plan.jpg) [Don't Trust The Number, Understand the Number: Lessons from 100 Audits](https://blog.usablenet.com/dont-trust-the-number-understand-the-number-lessons-from-100-audits) Oct 8, 2026 ### Sign Up for the UsableNet Blog ### Recent Posts ![feature image](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Halloween%20Blog.png) [Blind and Locked Out: Three Halloween 2026 Accessibility Scares](https://blog.usablenet.com/blind-and-locked-out-three-halloween-2026-accessibility-scares) Oct 30, 2026 ![feature image](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/bigcommerce-ada-compliance.webp) [Blind Users And Payment Forms: Where Adding A Card Breaks Down](https://blog.usablenet.com/blind-users-and-payment-forms-where-adding-a-card-breaks-down) Oct 27, 2026 ![feature image](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/developer-fixing-accessibility-code-issues.jpg) [Website Login Accessibility: Where Sign-In Fails Blind Users](https://blog.usablenet.com/website-login-accessibility-where-sign-in-fails-blind-users) Oct 21, 2026 ### Posts by Topic - [Web Accessibility (331)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/web-accessibility) - [User Experience (125)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/user-experience) - [ADA Lawsuits (46)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/ada-lawsuits) - [ADA Website Compliance (41)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/ada-website-compliance) - [European Accessibility Act (34)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/european-accessibility-act) - [Mobile Web (30)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/mobile-web) - [Retail (28)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/retail) - [Mobile Apps (27)](https://blog.usablenet.com/topic/mobile-apps) ![](https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Consultation%20Icon.svg) Need to improve digital usability, accessibility or performance? 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Stay up-to-date on our insights, the latest tech news and digital trends. ![International Association of Accessibility Professionals logo](https://blog.usablenet.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SaaS%20Theme/2023%20Header%20and%20Footer/IAAP-logo.png?width=150&height=81&name=IAAP-logo.png) © 2026 UsableNet Inc. ![International Association of Accessibility Professionals logo](https://blog.usablenet.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SaaS%20Theme/2023%20Header%20and%20Footer/IAAP-logo.png?width=150&height=81&name=IAAP-logo.png) © 2026 UsableNet Inc. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Michael Taylor", "url" : "https://blog.usablenet.com/author/michael-taylor" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-30T15:00:54.186Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-30T15:00:54.000Z", "headline" : "Blind and Locked Out: Three Halloween 2026 Accessibility Scares", "image" : [ "https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Halloween%20Blog.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.usablenet.com/blind-and-locked-out-three-halloween-2026-accessibility-scares", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.usablenet.com/hubfs/Logo_Black.png" }, "name" : "UsableNet Inc." } } ```