Current technologies can make the disabled productive<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): About 13 years ago, as a candidate for the civil
\nservice, I was required to undergo a general medical evaluation.
\nBecause of my very limited eyesight, the doctor who signed the
\nofficial evaluation result wrote a comment that went something
\nlike: \"This person is not fit for highly professional jobs.\"<\/p>\n
On that day back in 1985, I had already had to wait several
\nhours at Persahabatan Hospital before she saw me. She finally
\nshowed up in the afternoon, although she was supposed to have
\nstarted work at 9:00 in the morning. She quickly reviewed the
\nresults of my tests, then scribbled that comment. I was already
\nso tired and so fed up that I didn't bother to read what she had
\nwritten on the report, which was in any case sealed in an
\nenvelope. It was only later that I found out that she had
\ncondemned me as useless because of my albinism and related poor
\nvision.<\/p>\n
Even today the common perception is that disabled people are
\ntotally incapable human beings that are totally depend on others
\nfor their survival. Incidentally, a great article in the November
\nissue of Home Office Computing features Laura Micklus, who
\nsuffers from cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair.
\nLaura works as an assistive technology counselor and a grant
\nwriter. She writes for the West Haven Disability Resource Center
\nin Connecticut, USA.<\/p>\n
Not only has she thoughtfully designed her workplace, she has
\nalso chosen her tools carefully, from the cordless phone to the
\nnotebook computer. She uses an IBM ThinkPad 385CD in conjunction
\nwith DragonDictate 3.0 and NaturallySpeaking Deluxe, two leading
\nvoice recognition programs, and Microsoft Office 97 and Intuit
\nQuicken. With these tools, she can be as independent as most of
\nus able bodied individuals. Her only assistant is Ike, a well-
\ntrained dog that will pick up the cordless phone if she drops it.<\/p>\n
What Laura proves is that current technologies can empower the
\nphysically disabled and make them productive. Voice recognition
\nprograms, such as the ones she uses, enable people to put their
\nthoughts and ideas into writing without a lot of physical effort.
\nThey can dictate their letters, articles and stories, leaving the
\ncomputer to transcribe their speech. There will be errors, of
\ncourse, but intelligent software such as NaturallySpeaking also
\nlearns as you use it so that errors are minimized over time.<\/p>\n
Voice synthesizers, such as the one developed by Ray Kurzweil,
\ncan now read text so that Stevie Wonder can easily read books
\nwritten by Mark Twain, for example. The eyepiece computer display
\nmonitor found in today's wearable computers will also help those
\nwith severe myopic conditions.<\/p>\n
The range of products that can help the disabled has increased
\nsubstantially from the time I first met Dr. Edward Flynn, a
\nHonolulu Kaiser Permanente's poor vision specialist who helped me
\nfind the right reading glasses less than a year after I received
\nthat memorable review from the doctor. Freedom of Speech, which
\nis completely unrelated to our current reform movement, provides
\ntools and devices that can help people with disabilities to lead
\na useful life (www.freedomofspeech.com). They have devices such
\nas Braille displays, voice-switch activated optical character
\nreaders and computerized screen enlargers. For those who cannot
\nmove their hands, there is also a foot-operated mouse from Hunter
\nDigital (www.footmouse.com).<\/p>\n
And, of course, there is the godsend Internet that allows
\nthese people, who are mostly immobile, to work from their homes.
\nThe only thing that matters now is the perception of the general
\npublic, who must be educated so they come to realize that
\nphysical disabilities do not mean hopelessness and dependence on
\nother people's kindness. The fact is, many illustrious people
\nthroughout world history have had some kind of disability. The
\nlong list includes Albert Einstein, Thomas Alva Edison, Alexander
\nGraham Bell and Walt Disney. If you want to get a more complete
\nlist of these people and the disabilities they had or have, just
\ngo to http:\/\/www.delphi.com\/disable\/.<\/p>\n
Unlike technologies for the masses, technologies for the
\ndisabled are not as well-marketed. You have to search far and
\nwide for them. But again, thanks to the Internet, it's no longer
\nsuch a demanding task. Abledata, for example, provides a database
\nof 24,000 products for the disabled from 3,000 manufacturers
\naround the world. This site is maintained by The National
\nInstitute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, which falls
\nunder the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education<\/p>\n
Augmentation Communications provides an extensive list of the
\nmanufacturers of devices for the disabled (www.augcomm.com). For
\n\"physically challenged\" children, you can go to the site entitled
\nEnabling Devices (www.enablingdevices.com).<\/p>\n
One of the Web sites that you should also visit is
\nwww.humanware.com. This company markets all sorts of assistive
\nproducts that enable blind people to work, including a portable
\nBraille note taker, a speech synthesizer called Jaws for Windows,
\nand Keysoft Productivity Software. The latter is a suite of word
\nprocessing tools that includes a spell-checker, a calculator and
\nan appointment book.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that with the help of today's technologies
\nand the realization that being born with a physical imperfection
\ndoes not equate with incompetence, many disabled members of our
\nsociety could actually undertake useful, important and rewarding
\nwork. And that doctor of mine should hold her tongue the next
\ntime she encounters a patient with poor vision.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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