As a blind computer user, I
don’t use a mouse to navigate my
way through program functions,
menu systems or web pages.
Instead, I use the keyboard for
everything. I am able to use the
number pad for a lot more than
writing calculations. I also make
use of the function keys and hot
key combinations to get to different
elements on a page.
The fact I have access to most
everything sighted people have
access to on a computer makes me
happy.
From time to time, though, I
do face barriers. There are times
when I don’t have equal access to
software programs or websites,
although the community of blind
lay people and manufacturers are
working to close the disparities
between sighted access and blind
access as quickly as possible. I
have to say we’ve come a long way
in the accessibility of technology
as compared to even five years
ago.
Learning key commands wasn’t
a problem for me. I grew up with
access to a computer running DOS.
When I got a computer of my own
and learned to use the keyboard
and navigate by use of keystrokes
rather than sliding a mouse controller
to and fro over a rubber
mat, I did fine. Using the keyboard
is as possible to do in Windows as
it was in DOS, it’s just that most
people don’t know how to do it.
Most people like the ease of
clicking a mouse on icons and not
having to worry about memorizing
key commands for everything.
In all reality, keystrokes have
become pretty second nature to
me, so I don’t feel slighted when
I have no mouse to grab for on my
computer desk. I’ve been at this
for more than a decade, though, so
things are quite habitual by now.
Recently, I made changes to
a number of keystroke functions
on my keyboard. Because I am
doing work pertaining to medical
transcribing, I need to be quick on
the keyboard. It’s one thing to type
fast, but it’s another thing to type
fast when you are editing your
work and switching your hands
between typing on the main keyboard
and navigating by way of the
number pad way off to the right of
the keyboard.
In a field like medical transcription,
time plus speed equals
money.
I knew I had to make the
changes and I knew it would be
a real headache and slow me
down in a big way, but I went
ahead and did it.
It was a horrid transition. I
had a headache after the first,
second and third days of making
the change and I got so
little done. It was a sacrifice I
made, though, because I knew
it would yield great results in
the long term.
At this point, I am doing better
with the new means of navigating
around my computer
programs and the Internet, although
I am still a tad slow.
It seems so contradictory
that I have to mess myself all
up and take away from my current
productivity in order to get
faster. Like many things in life,
though, you have to take the
plunge at some point, do what
feels difficult, or very marginally
tolerable, in order to reap
rewards.
So here I am, making myself
as productive as possible
by making myself thoroughly
confused and slow. Once I get
a feel for it, though, it will be
as second nature as it was when
I was using the old keystrokes
that I first learned years ago.
This time, however, I will be
much faster.
Change is a challenge,
whether it’s on a keyboard or
on the path of life. Change takes
patience. In my case it takes a
lot of patience with myself. Unfortunately,
being patient with
myself isn’t my strong point, but
this has shed some light on my
weaknesses and I’ve had some
time to ponder how to strengthen
those weaknesses.
There’s always so much to
learn when you face a challenge,
whether self-imposed or
not. Struggles can go a long way
to making you stronger, if you
let them. Cliché, but true.
Kate Pavlacka, a graduate of
the State University College at
Oneonta, has been totally blind
for 11 years.
disABILITY
disABILITY: Painfully updating my computer skills
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Living intentionally helps bring life under control
By Kate Pavlacka Life calls a lot.
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disABILITY: Flying is possible, even with full plate, if you take time for yourself
She turns a scrutinous eye on herself, looking for opportunities to grow, and taking cross sections of herself to examine her growth rings through time.
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disABILITY: Breaking free of schooling 'rules' opens new avenues for learning
By Kate Pavlacka I went back to school for massage in April, and, already, I am halfway done with the program and my 1,000 hours of hands-on experience.
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disABILITY: Varied interests not a sign of unfocused life; it's about self-awareness
By Kate Pavlacka Recently I was challenged to come up with my biggest passion in life, and while it took me 2½ weeks of extensive consideration of what that might be for me, I came to the realization that my big passion in life is self-awareness.
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disABILITY: You can’t live your life according to the labels placed upon you
I sit down to read an article of interest online and my nervous system trips over itself. I try to hear my teachers lecturing at school, but my nervous system hums and crackles while the words drip through my mind like thick muddy drops. The information isn’t fully processed.
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disABILITY: 'Disability' is all a matter of how you look at, define it
By Kate Pavlacka
Don’t believe your thesaurus; it lies to you. -
disABILITY: Q&A on math, dreams, beauty, fear
By Kate Pavlacka
Here is the last edition of questions and answers. These are questions I’ve been asked by people of various ages through the years. The answers I share are from my perspective, experience and what I’ve learned over the years. -
disABILITY: Make people focus on personality
It all started back in September. I was sitting on the floor of my living room with one of my female friends, moping around and exchanging stories of prior man troubles we both had experienced.
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disABILITY: Fear of change can be crippling
It may seem like an oxymoron, but within nature and life, change is a universal constant.
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disABILITY: Find child-like magic lost as adults
The price of having a child is high, but the rewards surpass any monetary value put on your little bundle of joy and energy.
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disABILITY: Disabled, able-bodied very much alike
Growing is a skill that takes time and effort; groaning, however, is only a reflex.
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disABILITY: 'Disabled' doesn't mean 'unskilled'
Did you know that blindness is the third-most feared thing in this country after AIDS and cancer, and keeps employment of the visually impaired limited to 26 percent of those ages 21 to 64?
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disABILITY: Perception, not sight, important in life
Would you rather be deaf or blind? That was a question posed on a website I was on recently.
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Living intentionally helps bring life under control
