News - Window to the World
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Contributor: Sarah Elfman.
Source: Infoxchange Australia.
Posted: 02-12-2008
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Ricky Buchanan is a vibrant and intelligent 33 year old, who has a major in computer science, and enjoys composing music, painting, drawing, watching TV with her flat mate and spending time with her cat.
She has conversed with people from all over the world, campaigned for equal rights, is a talented writer and artist - and has achieved all this without being able to step out of her home.
Ricky has Myalgic Encephalopathy/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) - or perhaps a primary mitochondrial disorder, as her doctors are not totally sure. The illness results in low stamina and blood pressure, preventing her from sitting up for more than two minutes, so even a wheelchair is not an option.
Despite being housebound and bedridden, Ricky is determined to not let anything hold her back. As Ricky says, "I don't want to just be alive, I actually want to live".
With the aid of assistive software and hardware, Ricky is actively involved in her community through various projects. Ricky runs the websites Not Done Living, NoPity Shirts and ATMac, a blog covering areas of assistive technology for users of Apple products, including the iPod and iPhone.
One of Ricky's great passions is disability advocacy, and she points out a number of ways (explored in the attached document 'Accessibility For The Housebound') technologies can assist in achieving social participation and improving remote access for people with disabilities.
"Access for people that can't physically get to things is something that I'm incredibly passionate about," she says. "I really can't go anywhere...so the way that I go places is with my imagination and through the internet."
By participating in mailing lists, online chats and instant messaging, and using programs like Skype for audio and video connection, Ricky is able to meet a range of people. But it doesn't compensate for not "being able to access events that happen not on the Internet, which is most events really."
When organisations run interesting seminars or workshops, Ricky has no way of getting there. While handouts are often available, they are usually only a summary of what's going to be spoken about.
"There are lots of ways technology could make those events more accessible...organisations don't realise they can use them; they don't realise there is a need to use them," Ricky says.
Ricky outlines three main hurdles in overcoming the problem: creating awareness of the issue, correcting misconceptions on cost, and providing education on how technology can help. She argues that video and audio technology can be used at a low cost to organisations to record events in a web friendly format to upload online as soon as the next day.
"I think the perception of the financial barriers and the technical barriers is far greater than the actual barriers. So what we really need to do is educate organisations," she says.
"Hopefully they'll make their workshops and seminars and speakers accessible to people in my situation and that then has a roll on effect. There's a lot of people who aren't bedridden or housebound who would benefit from having information that they could access at a time and place of their choosing."
An additional barrier is the fear that the provision of remote access will be used as an excuse or 'get out of jail free' card for "unscrupulous organisations" to not include, for example, wheelchair access to their facilities, because everything can be accessed online.
Ricky is troubled that even those working within the area of disability are unaware of the issue. Recalling a phone conversation, Ricky says "it felt wonderful that I could have somebody who is supposed to be so experienced thank me for educating them, but also horrific from my perspective that (this person) didn't even realise that this was an issue".
While Ricky acknowledges the good work being done at events such as the Making Links conference, which explores how information and communications technologies can be used to create possibilities for people 'excluded from the mainstream', she is unaware of any advocacy groups that are working on this issue specifically.
Even though Ricky is able to communicate with other housebound and bedridden people via the Internet, she feels "it's a completely different access issue to me being able to find out what happened at a seminar run by the Disability Advocacy Unit or by Infoxchange...and I think they're both very important issues".
"I just wish I didn't feel like only person in the world that was screaming about this one."
Website:
Not Done Living!
Attached file 1:
'Accessibility for the Housebound', by Ricky Buchanan (Word document, 29 kilobytes).
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