Student: I have a mobility impairment.
Student: I'm dyslexic which means
I have difficulty reading and pretty bad handwriting.
Student: I became legally blind at 25.
Student: I’m a graduate from the University of Washington’s
Master of Human Computer Interaction and Design program.
Student: My major is Human Centered Computing.
Student: I’m an undergraduate at Auburn University
majoring in computer science and focusing in accessibility.
Richard Ladner: I’m Richard Ladner,
professor in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington.
We rely on computers, tablets and smartphones to do work
and stay connected more than ever.
Not only can technology provide access to people with disabilities,
but people with disabilities can be part of the computing workforce
as software and web engineers, systems administrators,
usability engineers, and researchers.
Michael: I am a software development engineer at Amazon.
I started programming when I was around 15.
I've always been really into computers.
I used to play a lot of audio games.
Those are basically like video games but they use sound instead of graphics.
I was really into those.
I really wanted to create games
and that's what really got me into programming.
Jessie: My name is Jessie Shulman
and I'm an operations program manager in the web services field
and a graduate of the University of Washington.
I have a learning disability
so I struggle with language to begin with
so learning a computer syntax like Java,
all the problems I had,
the struggles I had with English came up again with Java.
So the early coursework was really difficult for me
but when I stuck with it I really enjoyed the
data structure classes that came later on.
Vincent: I don't just have a passion for it. I live it.
I breathe and think what I can do with the computer or with computing systems
and that's why I have six of them.
I do everything imaginable with them.
My goal is to see what can be done instead of what can't be done.
Anna Marie: There’s nowhere you can look in computing
and not find a challenge.
I’m the kind of person who when I come across one of those little challenges,
I keep digging and digging and digging until I can find the answer
and figure out how to fix the problem I’m having.
Sam: I’m Sam Sepah.
I am an HR professional and I have worked for a variety of tech companies
over the last 10 years of my career.
And now I’m focusing on recruitment for software engineers.
Richard: Students are attracted to computing for a variety of reasons.
Cindy: My name is Cindy Bennett and I am a first year PhD student
in the Human Centered Design and Engineering Department at the University of Washington.
<v Patience: My name is Patience.
I am an undergrad at UW Tacoma
finishing my BS in information technology at UW Tacoma.
Jessie: My name is Jessie,
and I'm a fourth-year student at the University of Washington,
majoring in informatics with a minor in diversity.
And I identify myself as deaf.
Patience: My disability is complex.
There is one that is from birth which is my right arm
so I do everything with my left arm.
Cindy: Computing is interesting to me because
I can combine my two passions to create an impact.
So I have a passion for psychology and creating a user experience
that people really enjoy.
And I have a passion for using technology to improve people’s lives.
It is important for people with disabilities
to pursue careers in science because we have
really unique life experiences and skills that we can offer
and it’s important for us to be stakeholders in projects
and for us to be represented on the market.
Patience: What I would like to do is to go into security
which is becoming a hot subject today.
Jessie: I think that it's really important for people with disabilities,
like me, myself, to be included in the computing field,
because technology has created a huge role
in helping us to access the larger world.
So for example, the cochlear implants help me hear, right?
But also, the text systems we use for phones, computer message systems.
Richard: People with disabilities can receive accommodations
and use technology to help them in school and in the workplace.
Kevin: My main accommodations would be extended time on tests,
having my books available as eText format
which means I can use a screen reader to read out the books to me
so even though when I'm reading it myself I may not be able to understand it.
The computer is telling me exactly what those words are.
Richard: Many devices come equipped with accessible features
including larger text, text to speech, and spell checking.
Cindy: I use a typical computer like everyone else
but it has an additional piece of software called a screen reader loaded onto it.
The screen reader tells me what is on the screen
and I use the keyboard to navigate.
Vincent: Basically the information that comes up on the screen
gets converted to information I can hear
or it can then be converted into something
I can use a Braille display to read with as well.
Jessie: Another accommodation I use almost every day is called CART, C-A-R-T,
which stands for Communication Access Real Time.
So what it is, is a captioning device that's real time captioning,
that I can read the transcript on the screen
while the professor is talking in real time.
Jessie: The accommodations that I used in school
included books on tape,
I used a note taker for certain classes,
and I used dictation software for my writing tasks.
At work, I use text to speech for some of my written tasks,
for writing emails, large papers.
It helps me proofread and write more quickly.
Richard: People with disabilities can be valuable team members
who bring fresh perspectives to classrooms, labs and workplaces.
Anat: Regardless of your ability, you can create,
you can be an innovator in the space.
Michael: Being a problem solver
is really important when you're a software developer.
And if you're someone with a disability
that's something that you have to do pretty regularly
since we’re faced with challenges all the time.
We have to find solutions to them
so that probably makes us better problem solvers.
That's definitely a good trait to have when you're working in this field.
Jessie: I work in an environment where it's not who you are,
it's what solutions you bring to the table.
Are you willing to work with other people?
Are you thinking about all of these different teams,
all of these different options?
Sam: Candidates with disabilities
have a unique thought process to bring to a company.
Our country is diverse
so the marketplace needs to attract a lot of diverse people
who will use the products that we’re selling or the services we’re providing.
If a country is diverse, your team needs to be diverse as well
to parallel what our country’s demographics are.