Breaking Ground 99 - Technology in My Life

Technology plays an extremely important role in my life due to my disability. I use technology in all aspects of my life. Today’s technology is assisting me in living my life to the fullest.

At the beginning of my day, my ceiling lift assists me in rising out of bed. Then the lift takes me to the bathroom through an opening in the wall that we had cut out, because it cost less than going through the doorways for my daily grooming routine. My ceiling lift allows me to access a larger pool of direct support professionals to choose from, since I don’t need anyone to do heavy lifting.

When I finish my grooming routine, I get into my power wheelchair for mobility during the day. My wheelchair allows me to go independently anywhere I want. If I cannot get somewhere using my chair, I have an accessible van which has a remote that operates the wheelchair lift. My van enables me to hold down a full-time job and help a friend with his grocery shopping weekly. At the end of my work day or time outside of my home, I use an app on my phone to unlock my door.

My computer has a program on it that assists me with my daily expressive communication, and allows me to type and give presentations on numerous topics. I also use the text messaging app on my smart phone for expressive communication when my computer is not readily available. In order to make my computer more user-friendly, I turn on the accessibility features that come automatically with Windows.

I feel like technology has played an important role in my independence. I am doing whatever I can to stay out of a nursing home, and technology certainly helps.

Technology is the best.