Linda,
i wasn't able to speak for a while. it took an eternity to get a talking machine from ucp here in nyc. i remember seeing somebody with a cell fone that had word prediction. it was a convenience... a curiosity... almost a toy! a "normy/debbie, (meaning a nonn-disabled person), could get something like this immediately... just by paying for it. but for those who really need it... as a nicessity, well, they may never get it.
VR... a magical world where almost anything is possible? maybe... only if you have enough money for a powerful computer... and only if you're arms and legs and eyes work properly! and if you can't type, you'd better be able to speak clearly? that was my first experience with second life. and my computer wasn't able to handle the 3D environment either! i wandered about aimlessly at first, constantly crossing borders where "different simulators" were being used, and everything just crashed. :(
when my computer died, i ended up using a slightly faster one, and it seemed to be able to handle SL, at least some of the time! so this new world, that promesses to give new freedoms and experiences to those who r trapped in what i call "the hard world," is closed to those who really need it! well thats the way it was until these new areas for disabled began showing up!
in the beginning, setting up my account was easy. not much to read, as i remember it. i picked out a name, chose an avatar, downloaded the SL software, and that was it. but when i entered the VR vorld, i was a "stranger in a strange land"..... i couldn't see to read stuff people were typing, couldn't respond fast enough when someone texted me, had trouble reading signs, etc., etc., etc. ! i thought the "hard world" was difficult to navigate! this new "soft world" was impossible!!!!! i felt pretty yucky until it accurred to me to see of there were any crips in SL. i found "Wheelies," a virtual club for people with disabilities. then i met Polgara Paine, (not her real name!), who was building the surrounding neighborhood. she built a room for me, (i was surprised & pleased)! :) she showed me around. helped me to get started learning how to build things. i'm not a computer nerd, (just a wannabe nerd), but i was able to handle the level of work that i needed to do, (including fixing my avatar after it started looking weird, [black stripes all over it])! i was just lost, up til now. and very very shy!
i have A D D... and other, i guess, undiagnosed learning disabilities that often go with CP. (ok, b4 i met my wife, i'm doubting I would've been able to handle this stuff, but for most people, you just need a bit of perseverance, and SOME ability to pay attention, [tee-hee].) Polgara helped me a lot. :)
My idea is to have sort of a welcoming wagon or something... to take someone by the hand, even b4 they set up an account in SL. communicate through email... and guide them through whatever they have problems with. and polgara tells me there's someone who helps people with special interfaces... so they don't have to use their hands to move around. i'm thinking, a "work-around" can be found to help people with speaking or typing as well. in what i hope is the near future, i'd like to see a group of us try to get donations of workable computers and interfaces for the truly marginalized in our society. People with nothing to their name except a bed and a diaper. :( after that, cognative defecits can be tackled. (something not usually mentioned, (i think), at least when it comes to CP in many "high functioning" people.
I call VR the "soft world" because it can be tailored to the needs of its residents. its easy to understand that if a doorway isn't wide enough for them to fit through, just say the magic word... GOOGLE-GOGGLE, and its as wide as u want it 2 be!!! but in VR, things can be made easier to "understand" as well... for those who may need it. ok, i haven't given it much thought up to now... because in the past, i thought this new world was too far off in the future. but its beginnings are here now. i'll be thinking and talking about it to anyone interested.
i envision a place where someone who in the past, was unable to speak or manipulate their environment, ends up with an actual job!... working for real money, in a virtual office... or as an artist... or a tour guide? meeting people... even having romantic relationships. virtual sex? u can be sure people are working on that one already!! :)
as bevus said to buthead one day, while they were trying to get on the internet,
"welcome to the future!" :)
my SL name is NOHLE CONDOR.
if you decide to try SL, come looking for me. weel connect somehow.
Hope I'll see you there! :)
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