Features

• Talking Tech w/ Curtis Chong: The accessible technology race
• Blind Perspective: Confidence starts in our comfort zones and grows with us

Talking Tech w/ Curtis Chong
Technology for the Blind: Sometimes we win, sometimes we don’t

When I think about nonvisual access technology, I am struck by what appears to be a never-ending race concerning how this technology enables those of us who are blind or visually impaired to live and work on a par with our sighted friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

Oftentimes, technology enables us to stay ahead of the game—that is, it provides us with a clear advantage that people with “normal” vision do not possess. Other times, because of the way a particular technology is used, we are left slightly behind with a clear disadvantage that could result in the loss of employment.

Consider the personal information management systems with refreshable Braille that have been designed for nonvisual use, such as the BrailleNote, Braille Sense or PAC Mate. These devices allow a person to store a lot of information that can be quickly retrieved when needed. Someone who has mastered these devices can find a name, address or phone number in short order, and in a crowd where everyone else has only pencils and notebooks, this confers a definite advantage.

When personal digital assistants (PDAs), Blackberries and/or smartphones were far less common, and blind users (out of necessity) carried their personal information management systems around with them most of the time, the advantages (to the blind person) were more significant. However, in today’s world, where just about everyone carries a cell phone that can surf the Web, a personal information management system for the blind does not confer the benefits it once did. Today, a person who is blind is better off using a nonvisually-accessible smartphone—an item that is not as easy to find as we might wish.

The development of the personal computer in the early 1980s provided a platform on which blind or visually impaired people could run programs that would either enlarge displayed information or speak the contents shown on the video monitor.

Before computers were widely used in the office, the blind employee who had mastered the complexities these early computers had a clear advantage. While his/her coworkers found word processing and e-mail to be intimidating, the blind person could communicate efficiently and quickly. Now, computers are ubiquitous, and everybody in the workplace—including the blind employee—is expected to be proficient. Also, the blind employee is assumed to be able to operate the same proprietary in-house software as his/her peers. In cases where such software is compatible with access technology used by the blind, everybody works on a level playing field.

However, if it should turn out that the proprietary software doesn’t work with the access technology, then chances are that the blind person will not be regarded as competitive and will not be hired.

The bottom line, therefore, is that it is not always the case that a technological approach or solution will provide a clear advantage to someone who is blind or visually impaired. Rather, in looking at the impact that technology has had upon the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired, it is important to keep in mind the context in which the technology is going to be used.

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Blind Perspective
Confidence starts in our comfort zones and grows with us

By Linda Slayton

Unfortunately human characteristics are never 100 percent. No one is totally charming or obnoxious. Nor is anyone totally confident. Confidence is a positive characteristic; something we strive to achieve. Some people seem born with it and some never seem to have enough. When we have confidence, we project confidence. Just be careful that confidence is not misplaced. Believing you can walk through quicksand isn’t the same as doing it.

The question is, then, how do we build confidence? For me, confidence came most easily in the areas in which I felt comfortable, such as writing. My confidence started because writing felt natural to me. Putting words together to express thoughts was one thing I immediately liked to do. It was the same with cooking.

Confidence starts in our comfort zones. It’s much harder to build confidence in areas in which we are unfamiliar.

My favorite quote regarding confidence comes from Thomas Edison. He said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Confidence is not about doing things and having success so much as it is a mind set. It’s the ability to wrap your mind around a belief in yourself. It’s an inner faith that no matter what the situation, you will find a way through and come out better for it. It’s putting wisdom and knowledge together to walk around the quicksand instead of through it. Confidence focuses on the outcome, not the means.

The Orientation Center at the Department for the Blind is a great example of what I’m talking about. It’s a place where we learn to believe that we can do things as blind people. The classes and skills are tools to help us realize that we can be successful and productive. I finished only two classes in the Center. It didn’t matter because I left the Center with confidence. I had that inner belief that I was going to be just fine as a blind person. That has never left me.

Few days go by when I don’t encounter a situation where my confidence wanes. Even then, the thing I most notice is not my lack of confidence, but that my overall confidence has grown by leaps and bounds as years have passed. When our beliefs are strong they are hard to knock down. In closing, there is one last quote I’d like to share with you regarding the building of confidence. In those times when I’m just not quite there yet, when confidence eludes me, I rely on this old stand-by, “Fake it ‘til you make it.” It works every time.u

Linda Slayton is a freelance writer living in Des Moines. She can be reached by email at lcslayton@yahoo.com

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