yet another problem for blind and visually-impaired workers is, technology is changing so rapidly, by the time you getsaid screenreader, or even hardware, your machine is either outdated or the technology for it becomes obsolete, and companies pull support without notice which, leaves sort of an unfair advantage in favor of off-the- shelf technology. And that is where Macs and VoiceOver has started cutting into the marketshare. If I, for example, were a rehab counselor, and I found or discovered that my client can do his/her job adequately with VoiceOver, my tendency would be to go with the product that is most economical for my dollars appropriated to me; most of the time VoiceOver would win out. Every screenreader, albeit a Microsoft or Apple product, has its good points; the choices we make will largely depend upon our knowledge of said product and our knowledge of capitalistic economics. And like everything else, economics has its ambiguities, some we may or may not understand; the bottom line here is, counselors should be informed just as much as clients so that state agencies aren't wasting moneyon something that would be of no use to the client for present or future purposes. Richie Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska. On Dec 1, 2009, at 12:03 PM, carlene knight wrote:
One thing that needs to be addressed here is that there are employers who can't afford to provide the necessary items needed for their visually impaired employees to do the job. Whether you think that's just an excuse for them or not, The bottom line is that I didn't have access to computers etc to do the job without assistance. I am one of those that do work at a call center and without an $8000.00 Braille display at $1200.00 screen reader, Kurtzweil software for scanning, a scanner, a printer, and tons of time for a programmer, I wouldn't be able to perform this job and there is no way that I could have afforded a quarter of this stuff on my own. Maybe with a flex account I could pay it back in a few years, but something tells me they would want it back sooner than that. Again, I don't expect this to turn into a pity party, but you have to see both sides of the coin. On Dec 1, 2009, at 6:09 AM, Chris Hofstader wrote: > I CC'd the bs list on this post and I think we should probably move > it there... > > The operative phrase in your post is "from your employer" which > points us to a chicken and egg problem - people can't get jobs until > they learn to use a screen reader and they can't really get a screen > reader (or computer on which to use it) until they get a job. In > most cases, employers are compelled to buy the AT for the person > with a disability but, more often than anyone would like to admit, > the technology cannot provide access to some of the tools necessary > to do a specific job or, to an even greater extent, to use the tools > one needs to get a promotion (project management software is an > example where there is no known solution for screen reader users). > > There is the additional problem of where do blinks without an > aptitude for computers, office type work, professional education > (law school for instance) and even an undergraduate degree in an > area in which they can shine. > > People without vision impairment can go into very noble careers that > pay very well and in some areas carry excellent union benefits like > becoming a plumber, electrician, carpenter, landscaper, tree > surgeon, auto mechanic and many other lucrative ways to earn a > living that do not require the skills of a white collar job. As > blinks, we have a big gap between call center worker at a bit over > minimum wage all the way to software engineer/IT pro, lawyer, > linguist/translator and other very high skilled professions. > > Plain and simply, while, as the quote from Caddyshack goes, "The > world needs ditch diggers" and people with vision impairment aren't > qualified to dig ditches. > > So, until AT moves forward by a number of really huge steps, blinks > with an aptitude for stocking shelves at Wal-Mart are out of luck. > Moderately retarded individuals who can see can actually get some > sort of job that pays minimum wage but a person with vision > impairment without an education for a white collar job, a job for > which they may have no talent, are SOL. > > cdh > > > > On Dec 1, 2009, at 6:10 AM, Scott Howell wrote: > >> Ah lets not mix issues here. I think there is a good argument to an >> insurance company paying some portion of a screen reader if they >> cover things like wheelchairs etc. At the risk of spinning this >> into an issue of politics, one is something you have no control >> over and the other you do to a larger extent. The point is we don't >> necessarily need the government paying for any of it. Now on the >> other hand, if you happen to have a flexible spending account as a >> benefit from your employer, certain adaptive technology can be paid >> for and reimbursed from your flexible spending account, which >> includes food for your dog guide and other such things. If you look >> at the IRS web site, you can locate information about this. At >> least in this case, you could pay for some items with pre-tax money. >> On Nov 30, 2009, at 9:25 PM, Mark BurningHawk Baxter wrote: >> >>> Are you kidding? they won't even pay for abortions for women who >>> really need them, I doubt anything funded by *our* government will >>> pay >>> for a screen reader. >>> >>> >>> Mark BurningHawk Baxter >>> >>> Skype and Twitter: BurningHawk1969 >>> MSN: burninghawk1...@hotmail.com >>> My home page: >>> http://MarkBurningHawk.net/ >>> >>> -- >>> >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to >>> macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >>> . >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en >>> . >>> >>> >> >> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en >> . >> >> > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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