Get started with screen reader support

Example overview

Prerequisites

• UI Toolkit
• Screen readers
• Accessibility module

Enable the Accessibility module

1. Select Window > Package Management > Package Manager to open the Package Manager.
2. Select the Built-in section.
3. Select the Accessibility module.
4. Select Enable.

Create the button

1. Create a project with any template.
2. Create a UXML file named

   AccessibleStartMenu.uxml

   with the following content:

   <ui:UXML xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ui="UnityEngine.UIElements" xmlns:uie="UnityEditor.UIElements" noNamespaceSchemaLocation="../../../UIElementsSchema/UIElements.xsd" editor-extension-mode="False">    <ui:Button text="Start Game" name="startButton"/></ui:UXML>

3. Create a C# script named

   AccessibleStartMenu.cs

   with the following content:

using UnityEngine;    using UnityEngine.UIElements;    public class AccessibleStartMenu : MonoBehaviour    {        Button m_Button;        void OnEnable()        {            VisualElement root = GetComponent<UIDocument>().rootVisualElement;            m_Button = root.Q<Button>("startButton");            m_Button.clicked += OnButtonClicked;        }        void OnDisable()        {            m_Button.clicked -= OnButtonClicked;        }        void OnButtonClicked()        {            Debug.Log("Start Game button clicked");        }    }

Create the accessibility hierarchy

GameObject

AccessibilityHierarchy

AccessibilityNode

1. Add the

   UnityEngine.Accessibility

   namespace.
2. Create an

   AccessibilityHierarchy

   instance.
3. Create and add an

   AccessibilityNode

   to the accessibility hierarchy.
4. Set the

   label

   ,

   role

   , and

   state

   properties of the node according to the button's text and interactable state.

// ...using UnityEngine.Accessibility;public class AccessibleStartMenu : MonoBehaviour{    // ...    AccessibilityHierarchy m_AccessibilityHierarchy;    AccessibilityNode m_AccessibilityNode;    void OnEnable()    {        // ...        CreateAccessibilityHierarchy();    }    // ...    void CreateAccessibilityHierarchy()    {        // Create a new accessibility hierarchy.        m_AccessibilityHierarchy = new AccessibilityHierarchy();        // Create a new accessibility node with the button's text as the label        // (what the screen readers announces).        m_AccessibilityNode = m_AccessibilityHierarchy.AddNode(m_Button.text);        // Set a semantic role (tells the screen reader this is a button).        m_AccessibilityNode.role = AccessibilityRole.Button;        // Set the state (is it currently interactable?).        m_AccessibilityNode.state = m_Button.enabledSelf ?            AccessibilityState.None : AccessibilityState.Disabled;    }}

Set the node's screen coordinates according to the button's size and position

1. Track the button's changes in size and position.
2. Calculate its screen coordinates from its world coordinates and the UI scale factor.
3. Set the node's

   frame

   property to the calculated screen rectangle.

AccessibleStartMenu.cs

public class AccessibleStartMenu : MonoBehaviour{    // ...    void OnEnable()    {        // ...        m_Button.RegisterCallback<GeometryChangedEvent>(OnGeometryChanged);    }    void OnDisable()    {        // ...        m_Button.UnregisterCallback<GeometryChangedEvent>(OnGeometryChanged);    }    // ...    void OnGeometryChanged(GeometryChangedEvent evt)    {        Rect worldRect = m_Button.worldBound;        float scale = m_Button.panel.scaledPixelsPerPoint;        // Update the screen coordinates of the node.        m_AccessibilityNode.frame =            new Rect(worldRect.position * scale, worldRect.size * scale);    }}

Connect the node's activation event to the button

invoked

NavigationSubmitEvent

CreateAccessibilityHierarchy

AccessibleStartMenu.cs

public class AccessibleStartMenu : MonoBehaviour{    // ...    void CreateAccessibilityHierarchy()    {        // ...        // Handle when the user activates this node (e.g., double-tap).        // Called `selected` in versions before Unity 6.3.        m_AccessibilityNode.invoked += () =>        {            using var evt = NavigationSubmitEvent.GetPooled();            evt.target = m_Button;            m_Button.SendEvent(evt);            return true;        };    }}

Activate the accessibility hierarchy when a screen reader is enabled

1. When the menu appears, activate the accessibility hierarchy by assigning it to

   AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy

   .
   • When the user turns the screen reader off,

     AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy

     is automatically set to

     null

     to free resources.
2. Re-assign the hierarchy every time the user turns the screen reader on.
3. When the menu disappears, remove the hierarchy by setting

   AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy

   to

   null

   .

public class AccessibleStartMenu : MonoBehaviour{    // ...    void OnEnable()    {        // ...        AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = m_AccessibilityHierarchy;        AssistiveSupport.screenReaderStatusChanged += OnScreenReaderStatusChanged;    }    void OnDisable()    {        // ...        AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = null;        AssistiveSupport.screenReaderStatusChanged -= OnScreenReaderStatusChanged;    }    // ...    void OnScreenReaderStatusChanged(bool enabled)    {        if (enabled)        {            AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = m_AccessibilityHierarchy;        }        // else        // {        //     // This is automatically done when the user turns the screen        //     // reader off.        //     AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = null;        // }    }}

AccessibilityNode

AccessibleStartMenu.cs

using UnityEngine;using UnityEngine.Accessibility;using UnityEngine.UIElements;public class AccessibleStartMenu : MonoBehaviour{    Button m_Button;    AccessibilityHierarchy m_AccessibilityHierarchy;    AccessibilityNode m_AccessibilityNode;    void OnEnable()    {        VisualElement root = GetComponent<UIDocument>().rootVisualElement;        m_Button = root.Q<Button>("startButton");        m_Button.clicked += OnButtonClicked;        m_Button.RegisterCallback<GeometryChangedEvent>(OnGeometryChanged);        CreateAccessibilityHierarchy();        AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = m_AccessibilityHierarchy;        AssistiveSupport.screenReaderStatusChanged += OnScreenReaderStatusChanged;    }    void OnDisable()    {        m_Button.clicked -= OnButtonClicked;        m_Button.UnregisterCallback<GeometryChangedEvent>(OnGeometryChanged);        AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = null;        AssistiveSupport.screenReaderStatusChanged -= OnScreenReaderStatusChanged;    }    void CreateAccessibilityHierarchy()    {        // Create a new accessibility hierarchy.        m_AccessibilityHierarchy = new AccessibilityHierarchy();        // Create a new accessibility node with the button's text as the label        // (what the screen readers announces).        m_AccessibilityNode = m_AccessibilityHierarchy.AddNode(m_Button.text);        // Set a semantic role (tells the screen reader this is a button).        m_AccessibilityNode.role = AccessibilityRole.Button;        // Set the state (is it currently interactable?).        m_AccessibilityNode.state = m_Button.enabledSelf ?            AccessibilityState.None : AccessibilityState.Disabled;        // Handle when the user activates this node (e.g., double-tap).        // Called `selected` in versions before Unity 6.3.        m_AccessibilityNode.invoked += () =>        {            using var evt = NavigationSubmitEvent.GetPooled();            evt.target = m_Button;            m_Button.SendEvent(evt);            return true;        };    }    void OnGeometryChanged(GeometryChangedEvent evt)    {        Rect worldRect = m_Button.worldBound;        float scale = m_Button.panel.scaledPixelsPerPoint;        // Update the screen coordinates of the node.        m_AccessibilityNode.frame =            new Rect(worldRect.position * scale, worldRect.size * scale);    }    void OnButtonClicked()    {        Debug.Log("Start Game button clicked");    }    void OnScreenReaderStatusChanged(bool isEnabled)    {        if (isEnabled)        {            AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = m_AccessibilityHierarchy;        }        // else        // {        //     // This is automatically done when the user turns the screen        //     // reader off.        //     AssistiveSupport.activeHierarchy = null;        // }    }}

Attach the script

1. Create an empty

   GameObject

   in your scene and name it

   AccessibleStartMenu

   .
2. Add a

   UI Document

   component to the

   GameObject

   .
3. Create a Panel Settings Asset and assign it to the

   Panel Settings

   field in the Inspector window of the

   UI Document

   component.
4. Assign the

   AccessibleStartMenu.uxml

   file to the

   Source Asset

   field.
5. Add the

   AccessibleStartMenu.cs

   script to the

   GameObject

   .

Test the hierarchy and node properties in Play mode

1. Enter Play mode.
2. Select Window > Accessibility > Hierarchy Viewer.
3. Verify that the accessibility hierarchy shows the accessibility node with the correct properties.

Test the screen reader interaction on your target platform

1. Build and run the application on your target platform (Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS).
2. Get familiar with the gestures or commands of your platform's built-in screen reader:
   • Android: TalkBack gestures on Android
   • iOS: VoiceOver gestures on iPhone
   • Windows: Narrator commands on Windows
   • macOS: VoiceOver commands on Mac
3. Enable the screen reader.
4. Navigate to the button using screen reader gestures or commands. The screen reader should be able to focus on the button and announce "Start Game, button".
5. Activate the button using the screen reader's activation gesture or command. The button should respond, and the text "Start Game button clicked" should appear in the player log.

Additional resources

• 📚 Documentation:
  Accessibility module API reference
• 📺 Video:
  Reach new audiences with Accessibility and Localization in Unity 6 (Unite 2025)
• ⚙️ Sample project:
  LetterSpell: example of an accessible Unity application
• 👥 Community:
  Unity Discussions: Accessibility