Blind Dev article

Have you tried coding with your eyes closed? 32 questions for a blind programmer

All 32 interview questions: keyboard use, NVDA, learning, coding, clients, and everyday life.

4/29/2026 · updated 9/12/2026 Published accessibility · development · FAQ

Based on Blind Dev personal experience and source posts; verify current details before applying.

A full English translation of the author’s 32 questions and answers, published in October 2025 on VC.ru and Pikabu. Habits, projects, and working arrangements describe the time of publication, not the current service terms on this website.

Hello, my name is Denis, and my monitor is always switched off. Why? The thing is, I am blind: I cannot see anything on it anyway. What is more, I also write code this way, work with crypto, and read speculative fiction. Today I will answer the questions I am asked most often.

1. How do you type?

I use a screen reader — the NVDA RHVoice speech synthesizer.

It reads out all my actions and events in the operating system. But it only understands text, so graphical interfaces without descriptions are difficult for me to make sense of. I hardly use a mouse: just the keyboard. I have memorized its keys, which lets me type quickly.

2. So the program reads out everything people write to you? How do you know who exactly is writing?

Yes, that is right. It also reads out the authors of messages.

3. Are you more comfortable communicating through voice messages or text?

Text — it is faster. But you can send voice messages too, thankfully there is speech recognition.

4. Do you record voice messages yourself?

Rarely. When I am away from the computer. And if I know the person is willing to listen to them.

5. Can you see likes?

To add reactions, I use the message menu, where I press the up arrow and choose the emoji I want. I dislike custom ones: they are read out as “Character 17256” or not read at all.
To check reactions, I simply listen to the message to the end. There the program says, for example, “10 thumbs-up reactions.”

6. How do you spend your day?

Most of it is spent working: I wake up, have breakfast, work, have lunch, work, have an afternoon snack, work, and rest. Then I have dinner, rest some more, and go to bed.

For food, I use Yandex Lavka delivery: sometimes it is inconvenient that you cannot immediately identify ready-made food when using search. Otherwise, everything is convenient.

7. How many hours a day do you usually work? Do you have days off?

Previously, eight hours on weekdays, with breaks for lunch and an afternoon snack. Now I am trying to organize the process so that I can get things done in four hours, but for now it is more of an experiment.

8. So you never cook, only order food? Or do you cook sometimes after all?

I never cook at all😊

9. How often do you go outside for a walk? How does that work? Does someone help you?

I mostly go out on errands. For example, to go somewhere by taxi. I rarely go out just for the sake of it. Except to parks with people close to me.

10. What is your hobby?

Reading speculative fiction. By that I mean all sorts of speculative fiction, including fantasy. I choose books based on their titles and blurbs. Sometimes, if I cannot decide straight away, I listen to the first chapter.

I have a channel where I describe what I am reading — Blind Speculative Fiction Fan

One of my recent reads was the “Pandora” series, about a planet with Ether. The characters strengthened themselves through exercises and cores from animals, and also fought monsters. Incidentally, it was those monsters that sent the characters to the planet Pandora to extract resources.

11. If a book mentions an object you have never seen, does that leave you stuck? Or do you have a rough idea of what it looks like?

When I encounter unfamiliar terms in books, I usually somehow get a rough sense of their meaning automatically from the context. Or I let them pass, since the plot is what matters most to me.

12. Do you listen to audiobooks?

Rarely. Not all narrators read well, and it takes a long time. Listening to books using the screen reader’s voice is faster and better for me (I am used to the voice).

I do not know, but it is probably easier. Because losing your sight brings psychological barriers, and relearning is harder.

14. What was learning at school like?

I attended a boarding school for blind and partially sighted students. There I learned Braille (a system of raised dots). From seventh grade, we were allowed to use laptops in humanities subjects, which was easier than punching dots into special paper.

15. Do you have a dream? Is it connected to what you do today, or is it something broader?

I do. But I think you should have dreams for different areas of life. So I have them both for my work and for my life. I will not disclose them: I think it is important to keep such things to yourself.

16. Do you have programmer friends?

Not really friends (people who have proved themselves over time). But I have acquaintances, and I am grateful to them for a lot. And it is pleasant to talk to them.

17. What causes the greatest difficulties at work?

When an interface is poorly accessible. Imagine a website with three buttons, but no labels. They are read out like this:

Button

Naturally, this makes it harder to use, because you have to:

Either work things out by trial and error
Or try recognizing them using AI. But that takes one or two minutes (a long time), and it does not always describe the icons accurately.

18. Does a client ever send you a picture or screenshot? If so, what do you do next? Is there a way to find out what is in the screenshot?

Yes. If it is in Telegram, I send it to a dedicated bot, Vision bot. If it is on a web page, I either look in the browser or recognize it using a special NVDA add-on.

19. Did you choose programming straight away?

Pretty much. After getting a computer, at first I just talked on social networks and installed different programs, but then I got bored.

From that point (2011), I started learning HTML and how to create websites manually and using CMSs (programs that simplify development. Example: WordPress).

I also ran blogs until 2017. But they all turned out to be unsuccessful in terms of traffic, so I deleted them. I kept my personal domain, but it is now a website about me.

20. What did you study, how, and where? On your own, or did you take classes somewhere?

Mostly on my own. I cannot even remember where I learned HTML, but JS (JavaScript) — on javascript.ru.

21. How do you write code?

I use a screen reader plus Microsoft Visual Studio Code.

22. Which programming languages do you know, and which did you use before and use now?

I mainly know JavaScript. A little less well — PHP (I have not worked with it for a long time, and did not use classes). Even less well — Go (I learned it, created two or three programs, and realized I did not need it).

Even less well — C++ (I studied it in college, and did not use it after that either).

The reason: I mostly create Telegram bots, backend applications with APIs, and template-based frontends.

23. Can you only write a program or code from scratch?

I prefer my own. I am not good at analyzing other people’s code because I do not know the structure of the functions, and because of the large amount of code and its intricacies.

An ordinary developer can skim the code visually and understand how everything works. I would have to spend several weeks reading it (depending on its complexity).

Yes, you can use search by typing “function,” but that is not quite the same. You can still miss something important.

But if a small part needs fixing, I can generally study it easily. Especially if someone points out where that part is.

24. Which programs did you start with, and which did you end up using? How did you get there, and why those particular ones?

At first I used Notepad++ for programming, but then realized it was inconvenient. Besides, VS Code has many more convenient features.

I also tried Microsoft Visual Studio when learning C++, but it is a bulky, not particularly convenient application…

As for a screen reader, I have always used NVDA. At the beginning I tried JAWS (a paid alternative), but it seemed slower and less convenient.

25. How does the process work, from first contact with a client and receiving the specification to delivering the result?

I get in touch on Telegram.
I ask about the functionality.
I write down how I have understood it. I ask whether that is correct.
I state the price.
If the client agrees, I accept payment and start working.
If the project is large, I suggest trying it after each stage. Sometimes we test it together.
Once I finish, I send it over. If everything is satisfactory, I send the code.

But now I have moved more away from programming toward project analysis. There are fewer stages here:

I find out the details.
I explain the analysis stages and the price.
If that is acceptable, I take payment and do the work. Sometimes the first half of the payment.
Afterwards, I send the report.

I analyze projects themselves (team, concept, coin, code, plus hands-on testing of the functionality) or tokenomics.

26. How and where did you find your first clients? What were the main difficulties, including any specific to your situation?

The main source was, and still is, my Telegram channel and chats.

When I was programming, there were difficulties because I could not do everything that was needed. For example, I do not understand the visual side, but people need it.

There was also an unfortunate experience when I made a Telegram bot. But because the button text was cut off on mobile devices, the client did not pay anything.

That was about seven years ago. Since then I take payment in advance and explain the nuances. I also realized that to avoid text being cut off, you should put two (at most three) buttons in a row.

I do not remember. But I have never particularly hidden it. Everyone’s attitude was fine. Some were surprised by how I work.

28. Were there any memorable incidents at work?

Apart from what I already wrote about the buttons, I do not remember anything special.

29. What do you like about your work?

I see programming as creating something new and interesting. I imagine code as text that comes to life after certain manipulations☺

I remember resting, looking at my first Telegram bot, and thinking: “How cool! You are sitting there doing nothing, and the program (the text of the code) is sending notifications!”

What I like about analyzing cryptocurrency projects is the opportunity to learn something new.

And overall, every project is something unique. Because each has its own level of team quality and interaction, its own level of concept, coin (including tokenomics), and code (development activity, audits, and bug bounties).

30. What have you already written? Which projects have you participated in, and in what role?

I have projects of my own. For example, a Telegram bot with notifications about changes in cryptocurrency and Russian stock prices.

There is also a community bot with points

On commission, I made a backend with an API for a project service, but it has already closed.

I made a game project — its creator closed that too.

There are other projects, but listing them would take a long time. You can see the active ones in Blind dev bot.

31. What unexpected thoughts and sources of meaning keep you moving along this path?

That I enjoy it. And that there are prospects.

32. What would you advise beginning programmers who have started learning the profession?

Practice more. You will not remember much just from reading books and manuals. Only practice.

Learn some built-in functions — write a mini-program. Learn a loop — add it to the program.

Subscribe to my Telegram channel, Blind Web3 Programmer. There I analyze cryptocurrency projects and write about my own developments. I will be glad to welcome every new reader😊 Thank you all for your attention.