>
> Michael Hinton credits Abilitech with getting his life back on track
> after he was accidently shot by a Maryland state trooper.
> Michael Hinton had finally tired of feeling sorry for himself.
> It was 1997, three years after he had been accidentally shot by a
> Maryland state trooper. "I wasn't doing too much of anything," said
>
> Michael Hinton credits Abilitech with getting his life back on track
> after he was accidently shot by a Maryland state trooper.
> Michael Hinton had finally tired of feeling sorry for himself.
>
> Michael Hinton credits Abilitech with getting his life back on track
> after he was accidently shot by a Maryland state trooper.
> Michael Hinton had finally tired of feeling sorry for himself.
> It was 1997, three years after he had been accidentally shot by a
> Maryland state trooper. "I wasn't doing too much of anything," said
> Hinton, who has been a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair since the
> shooting. "I had been trying to deal with what happened and had gotten
> used to being in the chair. But I had little motivation to do anything
> but sit at home during the day and go out at night."
> Finally, a fellow who went to church with Hinton's mother told him
> about an organization called Abilitech, which was in a building where
> he worked as a security guard. It was nearby in West Philadelphia and
> it seemed to find work for people just like Hinton - people with all
> kinds of disabilities.
> Hinton wheeled over to 41st and Market, just off the University of
> Pennsylvania campus, and looked Abilitech over. He liked what he saw
> and he has never left.
> Abilitech, a non-profit company designed to get the disabled new
> skills and jobs in computer and office management businesses, took
> Hinton into its computer science-training program. He learned various
> software and hardware skills over the next eight months of 9 a.m. to 4
> p.m. daily classes. Then he did a five-month internship at his church.
> And last year Abilitech called Hinton back to be a customer support
> representative for its software and training programs.
> "Now I drive to Baltimore and North Jersey and everywhere with a good
> job," said Hinton, who has clearly gotten over his self-pity. "This is
> how life should work out."
> Hinton is one of many success stories from Abilitech. Begun as a
> cooperative through the University of Pennsylvania in 1976, Abilitech
> has three components: the job-training program, a commercial
> computer-programming department and an "assistive technology" division
> that helps individuals and businesses adapt technology to disabled
> workers.
> While the Abilitech business offices are in suburban Aston, all of the
> training and programming is done at the West Philadelphia campus,
> where between 25 and 40 students attend at any one time. And much of
> that training and programming is done by Abilitech graduates - 75
> percent of the staff, in fact, has some sort of disability and most of
> them are former Abilitech students.
> Ellsworth Pierce had been doing work in the textile industry for 20
> years, but his tunnel vision was making that work very difficult. He
> came to Abilitech in 1992 and studied information processing. Soon
> after, he was hired by Abilitech to work with visually impaired
> clients and is now the assistant manager for assisted technology.
> "I learned to use ScreenOutput and several other applications here and
> it changed my life for the better. Now I can do the same for other
> visually impaired people," said Pierce, who said his disability is
> actually a benefit in his job. "A lot of the consumers I go to can be
> more comfortable with me than with a sighted person. Some are in
> denial or confused or angry, but maybe they see me and say, 'If he can
> do it, I can do it' and it all helps."
> Julie Chappell was well-satisfied with her career as a medical lab
> technician, but after 10 years on the job, she developed a visual
> impairment that causes involuntary eye movements. Not wanting to
> merely go on disability, she is now at Abilitech learning office
> management and computer skills with screen-enhancement software.
> "This is a whole new world for me, but I had to do it," said Chappell,
> a Philadelphian. "The company I will eventually work for will have to
> have Zoomtext, or some similar program, to help me read the screens.
> But I'll have the training and the ability, and I can't see them
> having a problem with that."
> With computer technology becoming increasingly part of every business,
> Abilitech's placement of disabled workers is becoming easier.
> "Everyone has to have a computer now. Even my auto mechanic does,"
> said Tom Giacomucci, Abilitech's assistant manager of training and
> placement. "And with all the new programs and hardware, the playing
> field is pretty level for disabled workers. In addition, our people
> are prepared on Excel or programming, or whatever is needed. Perhaps
> they don't know the company culture, but when they get there, they
> don't have to be trained on the computers. That saves far more money
> than whatever visual-enhancement programs the company might have to
> buy for them."
> Luke Ostertag is pretty confident that he'll have no problems. He came
> to Abilitech to study last year after his spinal muscular atrophy made
> heavy lifting impossible and caused him to quit his job as a chief
> engineer at a Center City building.
> "But my family always said I'd be good at computers, so here I am
> learning something new," said Ostertag. "It's a new life, and I think
> it will be a pretty good one."
> Robert Strauss is a writer in Haddonfield who last wrote in PhillyTech
> about age bias in IT. He can be reached at link
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> link Subscribe Now <http://www.philly-tech.com/subscribe_m.asp>
> link Advertise in Philly Tech
> <http://www.philly-tech.com/advertise_m.asp>
> link Search Past Issues
> <http://www.philly-tech.com/archives/search_m.asp>
> link contact_m.asp <http://www.philly-tech.com/contact_m.asp>
> link Home <http://www.philly-tech.com/main_m.asp>
>
> link WRITE TO US <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> |
> |
> link TOP <http://www.philly-tech.com/teach_m.asp>
> |
> |
> link Click here to view privacy policy
> <file:///D:/Inetpub/wwwroot/phillyaugust/policy_m.asp>
> For technical problems on this Web Site, please contact link Webmaster
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Copyright © All rights reserved 1999 PhillyTech
>
>
>
>
> Godspeed,
> David Goldfield
> > It was 1997, three years after he had been accidentally shot by a
> Maryland state trooper. "I wasn't doing too much of anything," said
> Hinton, who has been a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair since the
> shooting. "I had been trying to deal with what happened and had gotten
> used to being in the chair. But I had little motivation to do anything
> but sit at home during the day and go out at night."
> Finally, a fellow who went to church with Hinton's mother told him
> about an organization called Abilitech, which was in a building where
> he worked as a security guard. It was nearby in West Philadelphia and
> it seemed to find work for people just like Hinton - people with all
> kinds of disabilities.
> Hinton wheeled over to 41st and Market, just off the University of
> Pennsylvania campus, and looked Abilitech over. He liked what he saw
> and he has never left.
> Abilitech, a non-profit company designed to get the disabled new
> skills and jobs in computer and office management businesses, took
> Hinton into its computer science-training program. He learned various
> software and hardware skills over the next eight months of 9 a.m. to 4
> p.m. daily classes. Then he did a five-month internship at his church.
> And last year Abilitech called Hinton back to be a customer support
> representative for its software and training programs.
> "Now I drive to Baltimore and North Jersey and everywhere with a good
> job," said Hinton, who has clearly gotten over his self-pity. "This is
> how life should work out."
> Hinton is one of many success stories from Abilitech. Begun as a
> cooperative through the University of Pennsylvania in 1976, Abilitech
> has three components: the job-training program, a commercial
> computer-programming department and an "assistive technology" division
> that helps individuals and businesses adapt technology to disabled
> workers.
> While the Abilitech business offices are in suburban Aston, all of the
> training and programming is done at the West Philadelphia campus,
> where between 25 and 40 students attend at any one time. And much of
> that training and programming is done by Abilitech graduates - 75
> percent of the staff, in fact, has some sort of disability and most of
> them are former Abilitech students.
> Ellsworth Pierce had been doing work in the textile industry for 20
> years, but his tunnel vision was making that work very difficult. He
> came to Abilitech in 1992 and studied information processing. Soon
> after, he was hired by Abilitech to work with visually impaired
> clients and is now the assistant manager for assisted technology.
> "I learned to use ScreenOutput and several other applications here and
> it changed my life for the better. Now I can do the same for other
> visually impaired people," said Pierce, who said his disability is
> actually a benefit in his job. "A lot of the consumers I go to can be
> more comfortable with me than with a sighted person. Some are in
> denial or confused or angry, but maybe they see me and say, 'If he can
> do it, I can do it' and it all helps."
> Julie Chappell was well-satisfied with her career as a medical lab
> technician, but after 10 years on the job, she developed a visual
> impairment that causes involuntary eye movements. Not wanting to
> merely go on disability, she is now at Abilitech learning office
> management and computer skills with screen-enhancement software.
> "This is a whole new world for me, but I had to do it," said Chappell,
> a Philadelphian. "The company I will eventually work for will have to
> have Zoomtext, or some similar program, to help me read the screens.
> But I'll have the training and the ability, and I can't see them
> having a problem with that."
> With computer technology becoming increasingly part of every business,
> Abilitech's placement of disabled workers is becoming easier.
> "Everyone has to have a computer now. Even my auto mechanic does,"
> said Tom Giacomucci, Abilitech's assistant manager of training and
> placement. "And with all the new programs and hardware, the playing
> field is pretty level for disabled workers. In addition, our people
> are prepared on Excel or programming, or whatever is needed. Perhaps
> they don't know the company culture, but when they get there, they
> don't have to be trained on the computers. That saves far more money
> than whatever visual-enhancement programs the company might have to
> buy for them."
> Luke Ostertag is pretty confident that he'll have no problems. He came
> to Abilitech to study last year after his spinal muscular atrophy made
> heavy lifting impossible and caused him to quit his job as a chief
> engineer at a Center City building.
> "But my family always said I'd be good at computers, so here I am
> learning something new," said Ostertag. "It's a new life, and I think
> it will be a pretty good one."
> Robert Strauss is a writer in Haddonfield who last wrote in PhillyTech
> about age bias in IT. He can be reached at link
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> link Subscribe Now <http://www.philly-tech.com/subscribe_m.asp>
> link Advertise in Philly Tech
> <http://www.philly-tech.com/advertise_m.asp>
> link Search Past Issues
> <http://www.philly-tech.com/archives/search_m.asp>
> link contact_m.asp <http://www.philly-tech.com/contact_m.asp>
> link Home <http://www.philly-tech.com/main_m.asp>
>
> link WRITE TO US <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> |
> |
> link TOP <http://www.philly-tech.com/teach_m.asp>
> |
> |
> link Click here to view privacy policy
> <file:///D:/Inetpub/wwwroot/phillyaugust/policy_m.asp>
> For technical problems on this Web Site, please contact link Webmaster
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Copyright © All rights reserved 1999 PhillyTech
>
>
>
>
> Godspeed,
> David Goldfield
> > Hinton, who has been a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair since the
> shooting. "I had been trying to deal with what happened and had gotten
> used to being in the chair. But I had little motivation to do anything
> but sit at home during the day and go out at night."
> Finally, a fellow who went to church with Hinton's mother told him
> about an organization called Abilitech, which was in a building where
> he worked as a security guard. It was nearby in West Philadelphia and
> it seemed to find work for people just like Hinton - people with all
> kinds of disabilities.
> Hinton wheeled over to 41st and Market, just off the University of
> Pennsylvania campus, and looked Abilitech over. He liked what he saw
> and he has never left.
> Abilitech, a non-profit company designed to get the disabled new
> skills and jobs in computer and office management businesses, took
> Hinton into its computer science-training program. He learned various
> software and hardware skills over the next eight months of 9 a.m. to 4
> p.m. daily classes. Then he did a five-month internship at his church.
> And last year Abilitech called Hinton back to be a customer support
> representative for its software and training programs.
> "Now I drive to Baltimore and North Jersey and everywhere with a good
> job," said Hinton, who has clearly gotten over his self-pity. "This is
> how life should work out."
> Hinton is one of many success stories from Abilitech. Begun as a
> cooperative through the University of Pennsylvania in 1976, Abilitech
> has three components: the job-training program, a commercial
> computer-programming department and an "assistive technology" division
> that helps individuals and businesses adapt technology to disabled
> workers.
> While the Abilitech business offices are in suburban Aston, all of the
> training and programming is done at the West Philadelphia campus,
> where between 25 and 40 students attend at any one time. And much of
> that training and programming is done by Abilitech graduates - 75
> percent of the staff, in fact, has some sort of disability and most of
> them are former Abilitech students.
> Ellsworth Pierce had been doing work in the textile industry for 20
> years, but his tunnel vision was making that work very difficult. He
> came to Abilitech in 1992 and studied information processing. Soon
> after, he was hired by Abilitech to work with visually impaired
> clients and is now the assistant manager for assisted technology.
> "I learned to use ScreenOutput and several other applications here and
> it changed my life for the better. Now I can do the same for other
> visually impaired people," said Pierce, who said his disability is
> actually a benefit in his job. "A lot of the consumers I go to can be
> more comfortable with me than with a sighted person. Some are in
> denial or confused or angry, but maybe they see me and say, 'If he can
> do it, I can do it' and it all helps."
> Julie Chappell was well-satisfied with her career as a medical lab
> technician, but after 10 years on the job, she developed a visual
> impairment that causes involuntary eye movements. Not wanting to
> merely go on disability, she is now at Abilitech learning office
> management and computer skills with screen-enhancement software.
> "This is a whole new world for me, but I had to do it," said Chappell,
> a Philadelphian. "The company I will eventually work for will have to
> have Zoomtext, or some similar program, to help me read the screens.
> But I'll have the training and the ability, and I can't see them
> having a problem with that."
> With computer technology becoming increasingly part of every business,
> Abilitech's placement of disabled workers is becoming easier.
> "Everyone has to have a computer now. Even my auto mechanic does,"
> said Tom Giacomucci, Abilitech's assistant manager of training and
> placement. "And with all the new programs and hardware, the playing
> field is pretty level for disabled workers. In addition, our people
> are prepared on Excel or programming, or whatever is needed. Perhaps
> they don't know the company culture, but when they get there, they
> don't have to be trained on the computers. That saves far more money
> than whatever visual-enhancement programs the company might have to
> buy for them."
> Luke Ostertag is pretty confident that he'll have no problems. He came
> to Abilitech to study last year after his spinal muscular atrophy made
> heavy lifting impossible and caused him to quit his job as a chief
> engineer at a Center City building.
> "But my family always said I'd be good at computers, so here I am
> learning something new," said Ostertag. "It's a new life, and I think
> it will be a pretty good one."
> Robert Strauss is a writer in Haddonfield who last wrote in PhillyTech
> about age bias in IT. He can be reached at link
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> link Subscribe Now <http://www.philly-tech.com/subscribe_m.asp>
> link Advertise in Philly Tech
> <http://www.philly-tech.com/advertise_m.asp>
> link Search Past Issues
> <http://www.philly-tech.com/archives/search_m.asp>
> link contact_m.asp <http://www.philly-tech.com/contact_m.asp>
> link Home <http://www.philly-tech.com/main_m.asp>
>
> link WRITE TO US <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> |
> |
> link TOP <http://www.philly-tech.com/teach_m.asp>
> |
> |
> link Click here to view privacy policy
> <file:///D:/Inetpub/wwwroot/phillyaugust/policy_m.asp>
> For technical problems on this Web Site, please contact link Webmaster
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Copyright © All rights reserved 1999 PhillyTech
>
>
>
>
> Godspeed,
> David Goldfield
>
Godspeed,
David Goldfield
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
|
