[Athen] Introducing myself to the group

[Deborah Armstrong]

Welcome Tyler. There are many visually impaired people in this field, including myself.

One thing I have noticed though with some blind and visually impaired access technology folks is how they give their own disability a higher priority. It's very important that we work just as hard to serve people with different limitations and different learning styles. For example, when I'm asked if a website is accessible, I always say that I've tried it and it's easy to use for a screen reader user, or that a screen reader user can work with it but it's not that easy. I'm not a web expert and I also don't know the challenges other disabilities will find with a site, so I try to never say something is or is not accessible.

(There are blind people who are accessibility experts of course ... it's fine for them to give opinions backed up by knowledge.) But as an end user I can only state whether a site works for me or not.

For another example, I try hard to learn about technologies I don't use, like Dragon and  eye control. Since you are just starting your career, I wanted to state my opinion here because I want access technology and accessibility in general to remain inclusive. We blind folks are sometimes the loudest voice in the room and we need to use our strength to support everyone!

OK, but now I've kicked over the soap box and I also want to say you should never be afraid to ask for help. I ask lots of dumb questions on the mailing lists!

--Debee
 





-----Original Message-----
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Tyler Shepard
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2019 9:51 AM
To: athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu
Subject: [Athen] Introducing myself to the group

Hi all, 
I have replied to some of the messages on this thread but I never truly introduced myself to the group. Here it goes. 
My name is Tyler Shepard and I am new to the world of assistive technology as a career. I graduated from the University of Washington in 2017 and spent one year at the same institution in their disability support office. It should be noted that I am blind and use a screen reader and I learned allot at the university of washington's Disability Resources for Students office.  There I learned I want to make this a career because I have seen how impactful it can be first hand. As I write this I am looking for a job in accessibility focusing on either higher education or accessibility consulting. I hope to find fulltime work very soon. 
I am on linkedin if you would like to look me up, I would be happy to conect with people in the accessibility and higher education indistries and share ideas and articles there too. 
I thank you for your time. 
Hope you are well, 
Tyler Shepard 
linkedin: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.linkedin.com_in_tyler-2Dshepard-2D8012b726_&d=DwIGaQ&c=WORo6LNFtQOb4SPVta8Jsg&r=K_2Yg4I05GGnHlSOevlp3QeE5-JEqtmoUnmP0YVj9ZM&m=aopPnxFhzqw5GC1YGMSgMS7NtwxZq-E0umodiANhKTc&s=w5PRs8JZcO8N2-ACfSm7SkIaZJ7LTo9WLdsDJ_XXll0&e= 
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