Bob’s Wheelchair Blog

Giving Thanks to Technology

With the holidays upon us, now seems like a good time to reflect on what I am thankful for. I'm incredibly thankful for having an amazing family, a network of friends who have always supported me and the luck to be born when and where I was. Every holiday season, at some point, I think about that last part. My mind gets to wandering and I end up trying to imagine living in a wheelchair 100 years ago. No comfy cushions. No ultra-light frames. No power chairs. No ways to operate on pressure sores or treat more serious infections. You could make a pretty good argument that much, if not all, of our current understanding of "disability" is, and has been, determined by technology. How many people, myself included, would not even be alive if not for modern technology? How many people are able to function "normally" (without anyone knowing they are different) thanks to technology? I don't mean to go too deep. I'm just fascinated by the interplay between disability and technology.

I can still remember the first day my occupational therapist took me to the "computer room" to show me that despite being paralyzed, I could still use the computer. I remember how skeptical I was. After all, I could barely lift my arms, couldn't use my fingers or wrists and had trouble just sitting up for long periods of time. Discovering that the "computer room" was really a converted closet that someone had packed an outdated computer in to only reinforced my skepticism and added to my growing depression. My therapist demonstrated the latest in dictation software, a $900 program few outside the disability community had heard of. She spent an hour working with me to train my own voice profile and show me the basics. The software proved better than I'd expected but offered less control than any kid raised on computers (like me) would have expected. I remember thinking some ability to use computers is better than no ability. At the same time I felt profoundly let down that technology wasn't able to fully close the gap in functionality between where I was, physically, and where I wanted to be. A decade later that gap still exists, but I've learned to appreciate how fast it's closing. Now every computer comes with free built in dictation software that blows away the expensive software I saw that day in the closet. Just the other day I got a new phone that allows me to tap a button and flawlessly dictate e-mails and texts or to fill in any fields I want.

Maybe at some point, way after I'm dead and gone, technology will fully close the gap with some sort of cure for spinal cord injuries or a Matrix-like world where all that matters is the functioning of the brain. Honestly, those possibilities don't do much for me. I much prefer focusing on the present and the bounty of things for which I am thankful.

Happy Holidays!

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