Note: this took place in Spring of 2016
American Sign Language (ASL) is my natural mode of communicating as a deaf person so imagine my horror when one day, I found my hands “handcuffed” with clothes tied around them and unable to move at all. I was terrified and tried to scream before realizing it had to be some type of dream.
At some point later, I woke up seeing my parents and cousins standing at the end of my hospital bed in a bright room with the sun coming through the window. My last memory was going to the…
On my journey along the west coast, I met up with a friend, a former Venture Capitalist and a serial entrepreneur who remarked that I am now wandering into mindfulness or rather heartfulness. He joyfully said that my deafness was a blessing — driving along the California highways, not hearing the honking or sounds but just using my eyes to take in the beautiful ocean beach landscape. …
As a follow up to my previous post, I have been reading “Design meets Disability” by Graham Pullin which is an exploration of how disabilities have changed the field of design and to some extent, created products/services designed for people with disabilities but also benefits everyone else. I feel that many folks do agree with this assessment but do not delve deeper or fully understand the implications behind this philosophy.
“People with disabilities are natural problem-solvers” — Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft. At the CSUN Assistive Technology conference, several sessions covered part/all of the concept of “Design meets…
This is a prelude to my thoughts about the CSUN Assistive Technology conference this week. I find myself thinking about “assistive” vs “mainstreamed” — a point brought up by a friend who works at a VRS (Video Relay Service) company. A quick google search revealed many results but this editorial seems spot on.
As a deaf person, I use several “mainstreamed” technologies. When I was a kid, I had to use a TTY device to make phone calls to other people directly or use a Text Relay Service. To me, that was an “assistive” device. Later on, Wyndtell came out…
So — indeed — I did quit my job on Inauguration Day and in the past month, read books, created my website, watched TV, and spent time with my family. Such a nice extended vacation but …
What the FORK am I supposed to do next? During the summer 2015: I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Colon Cancer, underwent surgery to remove the tumor, and then went through chemo ending in February of 2016 with all the “ughs” in between. …
Alok Doshi
Portfolio and Quirky Inclusive Perspectives
