Visual Comfort
Screen overlays, text customization, and display settings for eye comfort.
What’s in This Section
Visual Comfort helps reduce eye strain and make screens more comfortable to view. Adjust colors, contrast, fonts, and motion to match your visual preferences.
Features: Screen Color Overlay, Text Customization, Reduced Motion, Media Control
Screen Color Overlay
What It Does
Applies a transparent color layer over the entire screen. Helps with visual processing, reduces glare, and can make reading easier.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Screen Overlay ON
- Choose a color
Or press Alt+Shift+O to toggle.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Alt+Shift+O | Toggle Screen Overlay |
Overlay Options
| Color | Helps With |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Reduces glare, popular for dyslexia |
| Blue | Can improve focus for some users |
| Pink/Rose | Scotopic sensitivity, Irlen syndrome |
| Green | General eye comfort |
| Gray | Reduces brightness without color shift |
Settings
- Overlay color — Choose from presets or custom color
- Opacity — How strong the overlay appears (10-70%)
- Blue light filter — Reduces blue light emission
Tips
- Start with low opacity (20-30%) and increase as needed
- Yellow overlays are most commonly helpful for reading
- Blue light filter is great for nighttime use
Text Customization
What It Does
Changes how text appears across all websites. Adjust font, size, spacing, and colors for comfortable reading.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Text Customization ON
Available Fonts
| Font | Best For |
|---|---|
| System Default | Uses website’s font |
| Lexend | Designed for reading fluency, clean and open |
| OpenDyslexic | Dyslexia-friendly, weighted bottoms |
| Comic Sans | Familiar, informal, easy to read |
| Arial | Clean sans-serif |
| Atkinson Hyperlegible | Maximizes character distinction for low vision |
| Andika | SIL literacy font, great for beginning readers |
| Comic Neue | Modern, clean alternative to Comic Sans |
| Segoe UI | Windows system font, clear and readable |
| Trebuchet MS | Modern, distinct letterforms |
| Georgia | Readable serif, good for long reading |
Settings
- Font family — Choose from 11 options
- Font size — 12px to 32px
- Line spacing — 1.0 to 3.0
- Letter spacing — 0 to 0.3em
- Word spacing — 0 to 0.5em
- Text color — Custom text color
- Background color — Custom background
Want full control? See Text Customization Deep Dive.
Reduced Motion
What It Does
Disables animations, transitions, and moving content across websites. Reduces visual overwhelm and prevents motion sickness.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Reduced Motion ON
What It Affects
- Page transitions and animations
- Scrolling effects (parallax, smooth scroll)
- Animated images and GIFs
- Hover effects and transitions
- Video auto-play (combined with Media Control)
Tips
- Works with the browser’s
prefers-reduced-motionsetting - Some sites may not fully respect this setting
- Combine with Media Control for complete stillness
Media Control
What It Does
Blocks auto-playing videos and audio across websites. Prevents unexpected sounds and visual distractions.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Media Control ON
What It Blocks
- Auto-playing videos (with or without sound)
- Background audio
- Video advertisements
- Animated hero sections
Settings
- Block video auto-play — Prevents videos from starting
- Block audio auto-play — Prevents audio from playing
- Allow on click — Media plays when you explicitly click
For Educators & Parents
Why Visual Comfort Matters
For students with visual processing difficulties:
- Color overlays reduce visual stress
- Text customization improves readability For students with sensory sensitivities:
- Reduced motion prevents overwhelm
- Media control eliminates surprises
- Customizable appearance matches needs
For students with specific conditions:
- Color overlays for Irlen syndrome
- OpenDyslexic font for dyslexia
Classroom Tips
- Start with color overlay — Simple, non-disruptive, helpful for many
- Try OpenDyslexic font — Popular but not universally preferred
- Enable Reduced Motion — Helps focus during lessons
Student Preferences Vary
Important: What helps one student may not help another. Allow students to:
- Try different overlay colors
- Test different fonts
- Adjust their own settings
Privacy Note
All Visual Comfort settings work locally. No visual preferences or usage data is collected.
Learn More
- Text Customization Deep Dive — All font and spacing options
- User Profiles — Pre-configured visual comfort profiles