UCP AffNet Entrance
Parenting & Families
Long Term Development Issues
At this computer center, you've got Braille Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reporter
By AMY E. NEVALA
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Six months ago, June O'Hanlon-Eagle was terrified of computers and wondered how she could type, with the fingers on her left hand paralyzed by a stroke.
"My left side is a total bust," said the spunky 65-year-old.
Nudged by her husband, she wheeled into the new computer
center at her housing complex, where a staff member plugged in a
modified keyboard for right-hand-only typists and adjusted
the desk to fit around her wheelchair.
Computer confidence replaced fear and she soon mastered word
processing. Today, O'Hanlon-Eagle's blue eyes shine when she talks of using her new skills to open a customized computer greeting card business.
She credits the Special Technology Access Resource Center -- the STAR Center -- for her dream.
Financed by the city of Seattle and the Seattle Housing Authority, and operated by Center Park residents and trained volunteers, the special technology center provides people with disabilities access to computers that are modified to their needs.
It's the first computer center in Seattle designed solely for computer users who are blind, deaf or otherwise physically impaired, center Director Randy Hayhurst said.
The center has been available since January for residents of Center Park, a housing development for people with disabilities. It opens today for the general public with an open house, computer demonstrations and tours.
People with any physical disability are welcome.
"We can accommodate certain types of vision impairments. People who have lost limbs. People with tremors. People with one hand, one finger. People who can only move their jaw," Hayhurst said.
He knows firsthand how computer technology opens new doors to people with limited abilities. He became a computer whiz after losing his eyesight in 1994, when his car met the back of pickup truck on an Interstate 5 on-ramp.
"Before that, I never attempted to use a computer and could not even type," said Hayhurst, who said the memory of a long, often frustrating computer-learning curve encouraged him to make learning easier for others.
In the past five years, at least 113 public computer sites have opened at Seattle and King County public libraries, neighborhood centers, community centers, senior centers and non-profit organizations.
Five have equipment adapted for people who are blind, deaf or physically impaired.
The special technology center is unique in its goal of providing continuing computer training courses, one-on-one help during open lab sessions and a wide range of equipment to meet the needs of disabled computer users, said David Keyes, Seattle's community technology planner.
The center boasts more than two dozen types of adaptive hardware and software.
Four varieties of keyboards help people type with one hand, shaky hands or no hands. Those lacking finger dexterity can swap a mouse for a cue-ball-sized tracking ball. For paraplegics, a special straw can be "sipped and puffed" to control the cursor on the screen.
For the blind, the center offers software programs that will read aloud words on the screen, and printers that emboss text in Braille.
Some patrons visit the center to e-mail their grandchildren, type letters to friends, work on school projects or just surf the Internet. Others want to try the computer equipment before they buy their own. Adaptive equipment is not cheap, costing several hundred to several thousand dollars above the price of a mainstream computer.
There's an increasing demand for the technology from disabled users.
"This is a population that wants to keep up with the rest of society and wants to have access to information like we all do," said Cleo Brooks, coordinator of Seattle's Library Equal Access Program.
The special technology center looks like most other computer labs. Natural light pours from windows located high on the cathedral ceilings. Seven new PCs and one Macintosh computer sit at wood desks. The clean, white-walled room smells of new carpet.
Closer inspection unveils subtle modifications. The blue-green carpet is a sturdy flat nap, easy for wheelchairs to maneuver. The desks roll and adjust to fit a wheelchair or make room for a seeing-eye dog. Portable power stations eliminate cords that can snag a walker or trip low-sighted individuals.
The special technology center buzzes with activity during open lab sessions.
"On any given day we have two manual wheelchairs, two power chairs and four dogs in here," said volunteer Beth Gibson of Seattle, a retired physical therapist.
Watching someone like 24-year-old Sarah Howe achieve more independence is what brings many volunteers back.
"Someday I'd like to have my own computer. This allows me to try different models and see what works for me," said Howe, who is blind and uses a wheelchair.
"When you walk in here, roll in here, you forget about the disability thing," Howe said. "You're just a person using a computer."
More information
The Special Technology Access Resource (STAR) Center of Seattle, 2121 26th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98144. Call the center at 206-325-4284 or visit www.scn.org/civic/star for computer course listings and regular open lab hours.
P-I reporter Amy E. Nevala can be reached at amynevala@seattle-pi.com
June 27, 2000