-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2000 11:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SAL] Jim Langevin's Long, Hard Journey
Jim Langevin's Long, Hard Journey to Washington
The Rhode Island Democrat is the first quadriplegic elected to Congress.
And he freely acknowledges:
The ADA and modern technology helped get him there.
On January 3, 2001, Jim Langevin will make history on Capitol Hill,
when the newly elected Democratic Representative from Rhode Island
will be sworn in as the first quadriplegic ever to serve in the U.S.
Congress.
He'll be one lawmaker to watch, especially on issues affecting those with
disabilities.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2000/nf20001213_741.htm
"INNER DRIVE." As a Washington lawmaker, Langevin will be a shining
example of how assistive technologies can improve the lives of the
disabled.
His legs are paralyzed, and he has only very limited use of his arms.
He steers his battery-powered wheelchair using his hand and gets around
in a modified Dodge van that lowers to the curbside. He uses
voice-recognition
technology to dictate correspondence on his computer. For those things
that
technology can't conquer, he has a personal assistant who prepares his
meals and helps him with other daily tasks.
Langevin's story is both tragic and inspiring. In 1980 at the age of 16, he
was working
with the Warwick Police Dept. as a cadet in the Boy Scout Explorer program.
One day, a
police officer, thinking a gun to be unloaded, accidentally discharged it.
The bullet hit
Langevin in the throat, damaging his spinal chord.
The injury effectively ended the young man's dreams of working as a police
officer. But
Langevin refused to wallow. "My inner drive would not let me sit idly by in
self pity. And
neither did my family and friends," he told me in a recent interview.
STRANGE MIX. He graduated from high school in 1983 and three years later
was elected to
serve as a delegate to Rhode Island's Constitutional Convention. In 1988,
he won a seat in
the Rhode Island State House of Representatives. Two years after that, he
earned a degree
in political science from Rhode Island College, and a Master's in public
administration
from the prestigious Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University a
year later.
That same year, he was elected Rhode Island Secretary of State -- the
youngest person ever
to occupy that post. In 1998, he was elected to serve a second term after
winning a
landslide 82% of the popular vote. During this political journey, Langevin
picked up a
strange mix of friends, from campaign-finance-reform organization Common
Cause, which
applauded his efforts to enforce open government laws in his home state, to
anti-abortion
groups, which laud his stance against legal abortions.
During this amazing rise, Langevin learned to use many forms of advanced
assistive
technology. For more than a decade, he has used Dragon Dictate's
voice-recognition
software. Because of the independence it provides, voice recognition is the
preferred
software for quadriplegics. "Before voice-recognition systems were on the
market,
quadriplegics totally depended on personal-care assistants to do
everything. Now, with my
microphone sitting in front of me, I can use my voice-recognition program
to write memos,
letters, legislation, and speeches," he explains
While Secretary of State, Langevin put together an online portal for
tracking legislation
and other information about Rhode Island's political process. This was the
first such
effort in the state and a great improvement in information accessibility.
It's no surprise
that Langevin is a big believer in the Internet's potential to empower the
disabled.
CONGRESSIONAL EGRESS. Critics have long noted that Congress is big on
exempting itself
from laws that tell private businesses what they must do. But Langevin's
own special needs
are forcing Congress to finally comply with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA). The
Senate, which started first, and the House are in the process of building
special
entrances and exit facilities for Langevin and other wheelchair users, such
as Senator Max
Cleland (D-Ga.), a triple amputee. The Architect of the Capitol office is
also working on
upgrading elevators and bathrooms to make them accessible to folks with
disabilities. And
the Clerk of the House is designing an accessible voting system for
quadriplegics such as
Langevin.
Although his political agenda includes big-ticket issues such as
campaign-finance reform,
gun control, and protecting Social Security and Medicare, Langevin says he
also hopes to
introduce legislation that would make assistive technologies cheaper and
more accessible
to the disabled. You can bet that no lawmaker will be a greater champion of
the ADA. "This
act helped me get where I am," says Langevin. Well, Representative
Langevin, you've come a
long way. Now show us what you can do!
__________________________________________________
http://www.OpenDoorWorld.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Assistive Technology ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~
~~~~
~~
. . . . Opening Doors to the World . . . . . . . . .
~~
~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
have several nice days :-)
-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~>
eLerts
It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free!
http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/1/_/9165/_/977154344/
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.shakealegmiami.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
