[Bug]: Overlay trigger directive content does not get read by screen reader.

[lehelen19]

Code of conduct

• I agree to follow this project's code of conduct.

Impacted component(s)

overlay-trigger-directive

Library version

1.9.0

Expected behavior

Overlay content should be read by screen reader when triggered.

Actual behavior

Overlay content is not read by screen reader when using the trigger directive.

Screenshots

Screen.Recording.2025-10-14.at.2.26.08.PM.mov

What browsers are you seeing the problem in?

No response

How can we reproduce this issue?

Issue: https://opensource.adobe.com/spectrum-web-components/storybook/index.html?path=/story/overlay-directive--default&globals=system:express

How it should work: https://opensource.adobe.com/spectrum-web-components/storybook/index.html?path=/story/overlay--click-and-hover-target&globals=system:express

Sample code or abstract reproduction which illustrates the problem

No response

Severity

SEV 2

Logs taken while reproducing problem

No response

Would you like to track this issue in Jira?

• Yes, please tell me the ticket number!

[Rajdeepc]

SWC-1307

[Rajdeepc]

Hi @lehelen19 We did an accessibility review and it is confirmed that the issue is not a failure in implementation logic, but rather a lack of clear documentation and validation around accessibility expectations for overlays and dialogs.

According to WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices for dialogs:

• A dialog with role="dialog" must always contain at least one focusable element (e.g., button, input, or a wrapper with tabindex="-1").
• When the dialog opens, keyboard focus must move into the dialog—ideally to the first focusable element—to ensure it is announced by screen readers.
• If focus does not move into the dialog, users will visually see it but screen readers will not "enter" or announce it, especially in Focus/Application mode.