[Athen] some things adaptive technology experts need to know

[Kathleen Cahill]

I've enjoyed reading everyone's responses and thanks to the list member who
wrote in with the original question!  So, here's my two cents.  I have a BS in
Management, took programming courses and was a programmer for 5-6 years.  I
wasn't very good at it nor did I enjoy it.  I left work and got a Masters in
Social Work.  During my time at graduate school, I needed a part-time job and
someone suggested I look into adaptive technology, which I thought sounded
great!  So, I found a part time position with the Mass. Commission for the
Blind, adapting computers for our Vocational Rehab. clients.  I loved it.  And
I still love it!  I stayed there for 7 years and moved on to my present
position at MIT, where I work on the team that administers the Adaptive
Computing lab, provides technology services to students with disabilities,
converts print materials to electronic format when needed and promotes web
accessibility.  My social work background is very useful in my current job,
both with staff and students.  My team reports to the IT department, which
makes it much easier to stay on track with current versions of hardware and
software that are supported at MIT.

I try to get to a few conferences a year and have found the EASI online web
conferences and courses to be quite useful.  I find that how you do things
varies tremendously by the university, its culture, and the students that we
see.  It's always fun to figure out the best way to do things for a student.

Best wishes to you,
Kathy Cahill

MIT ATIC (Adaptive Computing) Lab
77 Mass. Ave 7-143
Cambridge MA 02139
(617) 253-5111
kcahill at mit.edu