Technology Was My First Community

When I see a new advance in technology, my first question is who it could help. Could it help someone in a wheelchair? Someone who is blind? Someone who is chronically ill?

That may be why I’m an optimist. Plenty of people look at AI and robotics and feel afraid, and I understand it. Governments often look at the same technology and think of military applications first. I keep thinking about the humanitarian work it could do instead.

Neurodivergent people already build this

Many of us are good with technology. Large tech companies have recruited autistic developers on purpose, because they know what happens when you pair someone with a special interest and a quiet place to work. That focus can carry a person through code that would wear most people out.

The community that builds technology and the community that needs it overlap more than most people realize.

What it was for me

I grew up in an abusive and isolated home. In the 90s, people said the internet was dangerous because you could learn to do anything on it. That was exactly why I wanted to be there. I could learn anything and talk to anyone, and the world was on the other side of the screen.

I also had amnesia, though I didn’t know it then. Nobody around me did either. I think part of me knew something was wrong, because I took up photography so I could remember things. I stored the photos on my computer, and its memory became my memory. I was able to write my own story that way.

Visual communication

I’m dyslexic, and I often struggle to put into words what I see in my head. I can picture things in detail, like 3D scenes, engineering problems, and whole storylines. Explaining them out loud is harder.

Visual work solved that. When I can build something that carries the story and the feeling, I can communicate what I couldn’t say. Digital storytelling let me speak in the first world I ever knew.

Isolation without company

Later in life I became physically disabled. My online communities kept me going, even before COVID.

People talk about how hard it was to be isolated during the pandemic. It was hard, but everyone was in it together. Being isolated as a disabled person, when nobody else is sheltering in place, is different. The rest of the world keeps moving and you don’t. I’ve been housebound more than once, and technology has been how I stayed connected to people.

Why I stay hopeful

I don’t dismiss the fears about where technology is heading. But I’ve seen what it does when it’s pointed at people who have been left out. It gave me a memory, a voice, and a community, and I want to help build more of that.

If you work at the place where technology meets accessibility, I’d like to hear about it.