voiceover curser problems

hi all, i'm having a really big problem with the voiceover curser. for example, when in itunes and in the search feild, it won't let me type in it, and i have to interact with it to make VO see it, it just leaves me on the previous button i think. in mail it won't register i've changed mailboxes, just keeps me on the inbox of the last mailbox i was using. i don't know if i've accidentily changed something, or it's the latest version of elcapitan. amy