What can our government do to help people with disabilities have more access to technology so they can live more independently ? There are so many things . The first is to actually put more enforcement and education behind the Americans with Disabilites Act so that companies , education systems , banks , etc . all understand how valuable people with disabilities are and that anyone can find themselves in a situation they might not have imagined an instant earlier . A law without sufficient enforcement is , well , just insufficient . Government needs to provide more incentives for hiring people with disabilities and more resources for educating us . There is no excuse for someone being denied an education today for any reason . Without that , employment is impossible . These incentives should be in place for purchasing assistive technologies and retrofitting inaccessible spaces , whether for wheelchair use or for assistive hearing infrastructure . For the blind , as I said above , I firmly believe that Braille is key too . This includes electronic Braille , which is a huge advancement . This is how blind people can learn and work on par with or more proficiently than their sighted peers . Text to speech technologies are wonderful , but they are not an adequate replacement for learning to read on your own . That ’ s the best thing we can all do for ourselves , and Government must recognize , encourage and support it wholeheartedly .
Share a bit more about your thoughts on disability I love doing what I do and am always refining it . I am always surprised by how little people really know about disability – and then I will meet someone with a profound understanding of it because it is present in their family . Still , disability remains a mystery to many people and even for the disabled , there can be a huge learning curve because they have spent their lives in a culture that does not value – and that even devalues – their disability .
Almost two years ago , I turned my practice as a writer into writing about disability for Forbes . com , and that has helped me to examine , explore and clarify my understanding of it . I now spend so much of my time with other blind and disabled people that it is sometimes surprising to find myself with only non-disabled people , such as a group of my wife ’ s friends or my work colleagues from my 30s and 40s or friends from college .
I have had a hard time learning to be patient and fight with my own impulses to move more quickly than I should , both physically and in conversation or action . I do believe the world around me is more accepting and less fearful of disability than it was a decade ago because more disabled people are speaking out and being present . Younger generations born here after the passage of the Americans with Disabilites Act in 1990 also see disability differently , just as they see race and gender differently . This is a positive trend , but waiting for generational change just isn ’ t enough .
What do you like to do in your spare time ? I love to read books on Bookshare , which uses an electronic computer voice rather than a recorded actor ’ s voice or a professional person . Electronic voices are so impersonal that I feel that I am actually reading on my own , not hearing anyone interpret any words for me . I also like to practice Braille ; walk with my guide dog ; and keep in contact with friends all over the country and now even in Africa . I spend a lot of time writing as well . And I love to eat . I am also excited about the possibility of traveling again . The pandemic period is the only time in many , many years that I have spent more than a month at home without getting on an airplane . I am also on a few nonprofit boards of organizations that work with blind people , which lets me feel in touch with the day-to-day challenges that people with disabilities face all over .
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