Task:

Read the article Adam's Story at the NCIP Library.

Discuss the technology Adam uses and problems you think he has encountered (his experiences as a person with a visual impairment).

Technologies Adam has used:

• Textbooks on audio tapes (through Recordings for the Blind--RFB)
• Noisy and disturbing six-key brailler to take notes and complete writing assignments
• A microbrailler which never worked properly
• MS-DOS laptop with speech output
• Laptop computer with speech feedback

Problems Adam has encountered:

• In the fourth grade, the catholic school he had been attending had no services for the blind and so he had to transfer to a public school in Boston.
• In fifth and sixth grade, he was pulled out of the classroom for a good part of each day to receive specialized instruction in braille and mobility. I understand that he missed class during the specialized instruction.
• The private schools in the Boston area were not very interested in Adam since he had a visual impairment.
• Using the brailler in the classroom was problematic because it was noisy and some teachers were greatly disturbed by the noise.
• The promising microbrailler never worked correctly: the development bugs had not been worked out by the manufacturer so the device was abandoned.
• Adam is afraid that acquiring a job in the private sector will be challenging for a student with a disability.