Hey all,

i have a mate that has a Partial Disability with his Left Arm and he has very limited functions... but He is studying I.T @ Macquarie University.

He is slow with typing as he uses one hand but is faster then an intermediate user when he concentrates at that task alone.

His in in his 2nd year and at the moment finds that his future in the IT industry will not lead him anywhere since he enjoys working with computers etc, but prefers a more hands on job rather then sitting at the desk 24/7.

He is studying Bach of IT - but recently the course has changed names and is choosing between Bach. Computing ( Networking) & Bach. Computing ( some medical type).

So yeah because his injury is recent and has impacted on his future goals etc, im trying to get through to him what options he has from the ppl here eho have the experience in the firld whom are disabled or know what can be done for people with a disability.

Any info would be great as this would help him out from not dropping out of uni for 6 months and see what needs to be done rather then him continue and not ponder into depression :S

Thanks guys for any insight!

can't help much neilz, but have to say you are a terrific friend for your mate.

I had a former work colleague in the very same situation as your friend.

Before getting into the IT field, he was in the navy. After an accident back then, he lost the full use of one arm. Instead of just discharging him, they help him and gave him the opportunity to learn a new career. He chose to study IT.

He was very successful in his work as an IT person. His typing was slow at times, because he was only able to use one hand to type, but apart from that, there was nothing disabled about him.

I hope your friend finds something he's passionate about and enjoys doing.

yeah he does enjoy this field but after the incident his motivation to complete hisd course has plummeted :S

He was a Credit/Distinction average student through out till this semester and he has hit pretty much rock bottom ...Passed 3 and failed 1..

The councilling at the uni is not adequate enough to handle situation like this and he cant folk out the series $$$ for the counciling he requires.. i sent him through 1 week of counciling and i was out of pocket $600 :S

anyways ill see what else can be done as we have taken him out...didnt really help then with chix etc but the guy has lost alot of his confidence...even his ex which we went out with didnt know what to do cause he was really closed up...

anyways thanks for the heads up so far..

I am working in IT at the moment with a woman who is completely blind. She gets more work completed than three quarters of our team. Her computer talks to her, and she has a scanner so she can read printed documentation. It is actually pretty cool to watch her work.

Its fine. If you make an effort, you can do it :-)

Your friend shouldn't have too much trouble finding employment, as most good organisations will be able to cater for his/her disability :) Don't let their disability bring them down! :)

Seriously IT workers don't do any more typing than your average office worker usually. A lot of office workers do far more.

He should be fine. In fact IT is probably a good choice.

Is there any decent speech recognition software out yet?

Hi neilz,

You sound like a really good mate. =)

Anyway, perhaps this may interest your friend:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dv...-handed_versions

From my personal experience, it took me a long while to get comfortable with this layout. So do ask your friend to give it sometime to get familarised with the layout.

neilz writes...

The councilling at the uni is not adequate enough to handle situation like this and he cant folk out the series $$$ for the counciling he requires.. i sent him through 1 week of counciling and i was out of pocket $600 :S

Most unis with a psychology dept will have a clinic that is used for postgrad students to do their internships. You could try the one at Macquarie if you haven't already. They're usually cheaper than a private clinic too.

www.psy.mq.edu.au/clinic.htm

As for working in IT, if he has the knowledge then there are employers out there who will take him on. Even if the disability were to slow him down by say 20%, if he's good enough then that will compensate. Slower and fixed first time vs quicker but lots of callbacks etc.

neilz writes...

he enjoys working with computers etc, but prefers a more hands on job rather then sitting at the desk 24/7.

Hands-on IT support will be difficult initially. Driving a car, moving and setting up desktops & monitors, rack mounting servers, blades, switches, tracing cables, moving furniture, unpacking and packing things.

Has he considered getting into Research? I'd imagine that having that level of insight would be invaluable.

Unknown Designer writes...

Has he considered getting into Research? I'd imagine that having that level of insight would be invaluable.

Research would be a good idea to consider going into. It doesnt matter if you have any disabilities, etc.

neilz
Is your friend eligible for the commonwealth mental health plan through Medicare?
He would have to get a referral form from his GP and be eligible to receive most of the consultation fee back from visits to psychologists which he might find more helpful
Good Luck
Rikki

When I was at uni, there was a guy who was totally blind and studying IT. He was doing great in his subjects as well.

I think he will be fine if he works hard at his course.

I don't think it would be a problem if he was a programmer or database developer. When programming, I find that I'm pretty slow, because it isn't like a typing test or something where you need to type really quick. It's more of a 'thinking' thing where you try to think of efficient solutions that gets the code to do what you want. One hand would be fine.

I think the bottom line is that there is heaps that you can do IF you really want to. It would be hard to come to terms with losing access to your arm or any part of the body (at first) but there comes a stage when you need to accept what happened, forgive yourself,'let go' and then finally, resolve to be the best damn guy you can be with what you do have going for you.

There are plenty of losers out there who have everything working (with their body) but are losers because they are lazy and don't want to do anything for themselves, nor do they want to help others. (It is these people who are truly 'disabled'.)

Your friend is only disabled IF he 'thinks' he is disabled. A bit of research and reading will show him that he isn't the only one who has had to go through this and that there are still many many ways to succeed and be happy in life. Going through this testing period may reveal that he has the ultimate advantage over 99.9% of the population.

I won't say what that advantage is, but I'm certain that if he keeps contemplating how going through this, could be a big advantage, he will come to realise what it is and why. He will figure out how to turn this negative into a positive if he hangs in there and sees how people who have it a lot worse than him have been able to live successful and happy lives.

Hope things work out for him :)

Im currently in I (IT Management) and lost my right leg last year in a motorcycle accident, although losing a leg has not impacted on my work at all no further than not wanting to be there in my current environment.

I cant comment on his arm disability and its functions, but tell him to stick with it, if he is passionate, he will be fine.

Cheers

AI-Expert writes...

Research would be a good idea to consider going into. It doesnt matter if you have any disabilities, etc.

In fact, researching accessibility related technology would probably be advantageous to him because he'd actually understand the frustrations a lot more than a physically able person.

Unknown Designer writes...

In fact, researching accessibility related technology would probably be advantageous to him because he'd actually understand the frustrations a lot more than a physically able person.

Also in research people generally dont care if you have any form of disability, if you are good at it :-)

my mate lost his hand in a car crash about 13 years ago. They reattached it. It's useless and doesn't work. however he is currently an IT Manager/Network Admin at a local private school.

AI-Expert writes...

Also in research people generally dont care if you have any form of disability, if you are good at it :-)

Very true. All Researchers care about is your talent at doing what you do.

Would your friend want you to be soliciting advice on his condition via an internet forum?

Why do you think that you know what is best for your friend?

Why shouldn't your friend take a break from study in order to take stock and adjust?

Firstly,you're a great friend! We need more people like you around =)

I have a friend who is doing computer engineering @ UNSW and the guy was born with an abnormality where the phalanges on his right hand are fused all together, including the thumb. He's always loved working on computers and his disability hasn't stopped him from doing well in courses at uni.

His typing skills are incredible, with the fully functional hand + his right hand (which acts like 1 huge finger). He has perfected his own typing method over the years and since your friend has only just had his injury, it will take time to adjust. For now, he needs to stay strong and stay focused on his goals. Just let him know it IS possible to work in our industry with a disability.

Over time, he'll be able to improve his typing skills as he gets more used and even if he doesn't, its really no big deal. I spend very little time typing anyway! The 20-30 WPM that he has probably dropped from his original only makes a difference when you're churning out thousands of words per day in an office environment.

In IT, it makes very little difference. A recruiter would have to be extremely shallow to take this, or his disability in general, into consideration if he's applying for a general IT related job.

Just keep his spirits up for now, he'll be fine!

neilz writes...

His in in his 2nd year and at the moment finds that his future in the IT industry will not lead him anywhere since he enjoys working with computers etc, but prefers a more hands on job rather then sitting at the desk 24/7.

There are opportunities to get into IT training, IT sales, IT recruitment. These could be good choices if he enjoys working with people etc.

I would also say to him don't worry too much now where you will ultimately land up - just finish the course, work through this difficult time and take it from there.

Also there are new user interface devices that come out the whole time, there is even one where you put on a headpeace, and the mouse moves according to where you think you want it to move!!!

So as time goes by there will be more and more options.

Once he gets into a new positive headspace, convince him he can achieve whatever he wants to achieve, cos he can!

Videodrome writes...

Why do you think that you know what is best for your friend?

Because sometimes, when people have had a lot of shite happen to them, they lose the big picture.

Why shouldn't your friend take a break from study in order to take stock and adjust?

Maybe, maybe not. Getting back on that horse might be the best thing for him. Or at least better than sitting around moping about thinking how useless he is.

Would your friend want you to be soliciting advice on his condition via an internet forum?

We don't know.

Thanks everyone for some insight in the industry!

Regardless where i get the information atleast there are people in here that can go out there way and provide some valuable information that anyone can use as a motivation and determination.

Well...seeing that unless you go through such a tragedy as any major accident... only the person has the real insight... we as mates are just ther efor support..whats done is done and now the recouperation and healing must begin and finish in the not too distant future...

the more he ponders the more it ruins the "lively environment"...not being selfish... but when he gets down we pretty much all do so we ended up all getting together and taken him to QLD for these holz.. luckily jetstar/virgin had a sale and mate sent them a letter and they gave us a group discount and offered my mate a free pass to movie/seaworld... but he doesnt know yet cause he doesnt want no charity for whats happened... we dont care so well do it anyway!!

anyways thanks for the info ... and well just continue down the curb for now before we get back on track..

neilz writes...

but he doesnt know yet cause he doesnt want no charity for whats happened

He shouldn't consider it as charity, at least not to him. It's a gift from Jetstar/virgin/whoever because his mates are awesome.

Maybe your friend needs one of these: www.frogpad.com

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any established standards on chord keyboards (yet), and they haven't taken off. But the technology DOES exist to help people type with a single hand.

Joker12 writes...

There are plenty of losers out there who have everything working (with their body) but are losers because they are lazy and don't want to do anything for themselves, nor do they want to help others. (It is these people who are truly 'disabled'.)

+1

Well said.