WishumNotes
Kirstin’s notes on Ryan Wishum’s talk.
- Ryan’s Background:
- Born and raised in Sylvester, GA
- He has Cerebal Palsy, which is a muscular disorder that has affected his speech
- His family was well known in his hometown, so he was accepted well by the community
- What is CP:
- A chronic disorder that affects muscle and movement control
- Caused by faulty development or damage to motor areas of the brain
- There are three main types:
- Spastic: Stiffness or difficulty with movement
- Athetoid: Involuntary Movements
- Ataxic: Affects sense of balance and depth perception
- Effects of CP on Ryan:
- Walking – uses a cane or electric cart(Amiga) to help
- Speech – uses a communication device called Lightwriter
- Home Life:
- Ryan met his wife in an online chat room
- Mrs. Wishum also has CP – her speech is less affected, but her muscle control is more spastic
- They live together in Cary, NC
- The Wishums love to cook and entertain guests together
- They attend pool therapy together to help prevent the degenerative nature of CP
- Ryan’s School Experience:
- Ryan was the only disabled student with normal classroom capability
- He was a “guinea pig” for mainstreaming in his school
- He made good friends that could understand his language and interpret for new teachers
- College Experiences:
- Ryan went to a small junior college at first
- He later attended Georgia Tech
- He attained his Bachelor’s of Computer Engineering in 1997
-
IBM Career:
- Ryan has been working as a Software Engineer at IBM since 1998
- Develops test tools for hardware
- Has served as Programmer Lead and Tool Team Lead
- Professional Challenges with CP:
- Conference Calls – Getting attention and contributing ideas is tedious
- Ryan starts typing until they recognize him
- He can repeat a word until they acknowledge him
- He does not utilize word prediction technology because of the cost and his good typing skills
- Meetings – Communication can be difficult
- Tough to get a thought in
- Presentations – Uses a presentation TTS software
- PowerTalk is a helpful software, but the speech is not extremely clear
- Hallway Conversations – Hard to stop and have a casual conversation
- Ryan carries his taptop and Lightwriter everywhere
- Conference Calls – Getting attention and contributing ideas is tedious
- Relay Service:
- AT&T has a relay service in which operators will serve as a middleman to provide telephone accessibility
- Some companies have their own TDD operators
- Improves privacy when compared to using speakerphone and a Lightwriter
- Struggles:
- Sometimes people assume Ryan is deaf or unintelligent because of his speech disability
- Everyday tasks and conversations with people are made more difficult (ordering a pizza)
- Some Brainstorming:
- Dr. Bishop brought up “Dasher” from the UK
- Uses Probability of Choice to determine a size of a picking region
- Fitz’s Law to select the target ability
- Disabled may find it difficult/frustrating to select words quickly
- Using a handheld might be a good project
- Sharp Zaurus SL – 6000L Handheld
- “Wimpy” speakers may be a problem
- Dr. Bishop brought up “Dasher” from the UK