And I promise, I did not read the message he sent his wife before I
wrote mine.  Nick, I agree whole heartedly with this.

----- Original Message -----
From: "W. Nick Dotson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 7:56 AM
Subject: Re: Assistive Technology Should Empower, Not "Help," Disabled
People


Pertaining to the article, I wrote the following when forwarding it to
my wife.
"This is good as far as it goes--but like all such screeds, it goes too
far in some directions!  The author is intent upon
negatively characterizing the state-of-the-art/industry, and focussed
too much on "what not to do" and "not on models
of positive examples".  Another aspect is, she didn't speak at all to
the pervaisive ignorance within the disabilities
"potential user" base with respect to what is technically possible at
the moment, nor, on the ignorance within the
"potential user" base with respect to how to appropriately use any
particular technology.  Unfortunately, this is a far more
complicated problem on all scores than the author indicates.  Remember
that those she praises, are themselves,
exceptional more knowledgeable than average disabled users, and have
their own political, professional and
ideological/personal axes to grind in the arena of Adaptive Technologies
which have been, are now, or might be
introduced into the Disabilities MarketPlace."

Consumerism is a double-edged sword.  For it to be of utility, potential
and actual consumers of technology must be
educated, not only in what the technology can do for them, but what they
must do for themselves with or without
technological assistance.