Linux, like most operating systems, has accesibility frameworks built in. However to use Linux with a screen reader such as Orca, you need to enable the variables.
Step 1: Open up /etc/environment in a text editor, you may have to do this via sudo or su to be able to write to the file.
The following are other variables you may or may not need. They are listed here for convenience.
GTK_MODULES=gail:atk-bridge GNOME_ACCESSIBILITY=1 QT_ACCESSIBILITY=1 QT_LINUX_ACCESSIBILITY_ALWAYS_ON=1 SAL_USE_VCLPLUGIN=gtk3
Step 3: Save and exit your text editr
Control plus X then y and entr for Nano Colon, w and q for Vim Control and S then Alt and F4 for most graphical text editors