Thank you! I've been behind the times. I'll start viewing it as a general accessibility issue, not specific to screen readers. But like Steve Klabnik commented, and from http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria.php , there are a few more steps to take to make JavaScript enabled screen readers play nice:

"WAI-ARIA addresses these accessibility challenges by defining how information about this functionality can be provided to assistive technology. With WAI-ARIA, an advanced Web application can be made accessible and usable to people with disabilities."

But wai-aria has nothing to do with JavaScript, rather the application of semantic elements to make non-native controls able to be interpreted by screen readers.

Thank you, now I have more things to point people at than just my blog post.