I'd have to agree with your comments on progress. I now even own a
device that will tell me the color of an object. Now that sure wasn't
available in 1986 or even a few years ago or certainly not at an
afordable price.
So much has changed, but its true some things has changed more so
than others, but I think for especially for blind folk, access has
come a very long way. I remember when I started at NASA in HR, I
didn't have access to the Code of Federal Regulations and now I do
via the web and that my friends in a major bit of progress. Nearly
everything I need to do my job is electronically available and really
helps everyone.
Scott
On Mar 17, 2006, at 10:32 AM, Travis Siegel wrote:
Well, let me see.
In 1986 I couldn't write a document on the computer, and 2 minutes
later hold it in my hand as a braille document. I can today.
In 1986 I couldn't talk to teachers, resellers, solution providers,
and even school admissions officers online. Today I can (and do on
a regular basis)
In 1986 there wasn't an intersection in the country I could cross w/
o having to worry about cars causing problems. Today, because of
audible cross walk signals, there's actually some places where we
*know* there's no problem, because the signals tell us so, instead
of depending on the traffic to do the right thing.
In 1986, I had to take someone into the voting booth with me if I
wanted to exercise my right to vote. Today there's actually *some*
places where thhis isn't necessary.
In 1986, MAC machines were a mystery, because every single one of
them was different, and there was no guarantee that even ones that
looked similar had similar screens. Today there's not only braille
on the keypads of most machines (not that it was necessary) but
some of them actually talk to walk us through the process of using
the machine unaided.
In 1986 if I wanted an assignment from a teacher in accessible
format, it meant getting a copy in advance, taking it to my
itenerate teacher, her passing it off to a braille person, that
person brailling it (or recording it if it lended itself to that
format) Giving it back to the itenerate teacher, then finally it
coming back to me in a format I could use. This process often took
days or sometimes even weeks. Today I simply ask the teacher for a
copy, they hand me a disk, or email a document, and poof, I can now
read my assignment all by myself.
There's hundreds of little improvements that like it or not are
based on technology. You say you weren't asking about technology,
but I say that technology is the very thing that makes it all
possible. You ask what's changed? I say nearly everything.
In 1986, I couldn't do half the things I do now independantly, and
today it's all a mater of routine. If you don't consider that
progress, then I guess, then we've got *very* different definitions
of what constitutes progress.
