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# Speech

A person may have a speech disability or prefer to connect without using their voice.

## Overview

People who are unable to speak, have a speech disability, or prefer to communicate through text
can use Apple’s speech accessibility features
to communicate through their Apple devices.
Design and develop your app to support speech accessibility features and provide a great experience
for people who rely on these features.

![An illustration that shows two people. On the left, a person is sitting at a desk and communicating using speech synthesis features on a Mac. On the right, a person is sitting at a desk and communicating through a text message exchange on an iPad.](images/com.apple.Accessibility/accessibility-scene-speech~dark@2x.png)

### Related videos

  <doc://com.apple.documentation/videos/play/wwdc2023/10033>

  <doc://com.apple.documentation/videos/play/wwdc2020/10022>

## Topics

### Supporting speech accessibility features

  <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/AVFoundation/speech-synthesis>

  <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/AVFAudio/AVSpeechSynthesizer>

[WWDC21 Challenge: Speech Synthesizer Simulator](/documentation/Accessibility/wwdc21_challenge_speech_synthesizer_simulator)

Simulate a conversation using speech synthesis.


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