Darrell Shandrow Hilliker

The only significant issues I encounter in the workplace that result from my disability have something to do with either accessibility or transportation. I am an experienced blind information technology professional. My current job involves providing e-mail and telephone based technical support on an outsourcing basis. I am competent and confident in my abilities.

Many in the blind community constantly tell me that all issues of blindness come down to social attitudes. I am told that the only way to improve our socioeconomic condition as blind people is to be sure that we have received training in the alternative techniques of blindness and then to work to change society’s negative attitudes. My personal experience and that of many other blind people I know out here in the real world says otherwise. Yes. It is absolutely critical that we master the alternative techniques of blindness such as Braille and the use of the white cane or guide dog. It is also important that we exhibit confidence in ourselves and our abilities as blind people and that we work to change negative attitudes through our positive examples. But, what I am saying, is that this work by itself is insufficient and will not, alone, do anything to increase our employment rate or give us much more success.

My own personal experiences bare this out quite nicely. I work in a technical support facility. My bosses and other colleagues treat me as a normal, real human being. I am respected and my advice and assistance is often sought both formally and informally on issues of a procedural and a technical nature. When it comes to the attitudes my colleagues have concerning my blindness, I just can’t complain. They’re great! Nevertheless, I encounter serious problems at work because of my blindness. That’s right. Read on!

My company provides technical support to customers on an outsourcing basis. That means other companies come to us to provide technical support services to their customers. Our customers expect us to largely provide technical support services on their terms. That means we must use the tools they provide to get the job done. There is often little or no room to request adjustments to the software tools chosen to perform the duties of the job, and we are certainly in no position to pressure our customers to make changes for reasons of accessibility or anything else.

While providing technical support, we utilize various software tools to communicate with customers, document actions and their results throughout the troubleshooting process, log in to various servers and pieces of network equipment, and interact with other colleagues. These tools must be accessible with a screen reader in order to perform the duties of the technical support position. There are usually few if any alternatives to the tools supplied by the customer. If they can’t be used with a screen reader, then the job can’t be done by a blind person. It is really just that simple.

There are a number of different types of tools we used to facilitate the provision of our technical support services. Communication with customers and documentation of troubleshooting are typically accomplished by means of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. This tool enables us to perform actions such as creating, updating and closing trouble tickets. We often must gain access to one or more pieces of the customer’s equipment or servers in order to complete our work. Sometimes this involves remotely accessing computers on the customer’s network. At other times, we must access the administrative user interfaces of network monitoring software, firewalls, routers, switches and other similar systems. We communicate with our customers and our colleagues using electronic mail, instant messaging, interactive chat or the telephone. If, for any reason, the candidate for employment in one of these positions is unable to use all or most of these tools independently, that person is not going to be able to perform the duties required by this position and thus an otherwise perfect opportunity will be lost.

My employer serves a number of different customers. We work with each customer in terms of a separate account or project. In most cases, each technical support engineer is assigned to perform their duties on a single account. Some cross training enables us to be versatile by providing support on other accounts when needed. Each customer (account or project) requires us to use different tools as dictated by that customer to complete our work. It has been necessary for me to be switched among several different projects due to the inaccessibility of one or more aspects of the job with a screen reader. This has happened with my current employer for a year and a half now. Many employers would have decided to let me go, simply throw me away because I am unable to meet all the requirements of my job. I happen to be extremely fortunate this hasn’t happened to me, but I know it does happen to thousands of my blind brothers and sisters on a regular basis. Let me just state a few examples.

Most CRM tools are still inaccessible. I was ultimately unable to perform the duties of one of the projects to which I was assigned because I was unable to use the Siebel software to create and manage technical support cases effectively due to its inaccessibility with a screen reader. For awhile, I was assigned another set of duties with that same account which were significantly outside my interests and best talents. These duties avoided the use of Siebel.

In the Siebel case, the manufacturer of the software told me that the customer would have only needed to implement Siebel in a “standard interactivity” format that did not require the use of Java and which would have been much more accessible. This would have required approximately an hour worth of work on the part of a system administrator, but, ultimately, our customer decided not to even make the attempt. The customer had what they needed to serve the masses, the employees without disabilities, so it did not make any “business sense” to make this accomodation for me.

I was finally reassigned to another project. Their web based CRM tool was extremely accessible, but, alas, I encountered another show stopper. One of the products this company sold and supported involved a piece of security management software that was based on Sun Java and was not written in a manner that would be accessible. Once it was decided that my ability to use this application in a hands-on manner would be necessary in order to perform the duties effectively, I was again reassigned to a different project.

The current project is completely accessible. The CRM tools are all web based. The software is certainly accessible enough. I can use accessible productivity tools such as AOL Instant Messager, Adobe Reader, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express and Microsoft Word to perform all necessary tasks. Sadly, this project will be suspended very soon. I am documenting processes and procedures for other projects. I am still being told that my job is secure, that my value to the company is recognized and that I will be reassigned as necessary so that I continue to provide value as an asset.

We must take serious, significant actions to improve our ability to access information systems used in the workplace. Businesses are not jobs programs. People are hired so that they can get the job done. If we can’t do that, for any reason, then we can’t be hired and retained as valuable business assets. Like it or not, it is just this simple. Let’s stop quibbling about attitudes and get down to the business of accessibility!

The December 26 earthquake and resulting tsunami have devestated South Asia killing well over 150,000 and displacing millions of people. We have been searching for a way to donate to the relief efforts in a way that insures our donation is targeted to this disaster. It is absolutely vital that we donate our resources during this time of need. It is also important to insure that our donations go to reputable organizations where it will do the most good.

President Bush, former President Clinton, and former President Bush Senior have set up an initiative for us to provide our individual donations to the relief efforts through a page on the USA Freedom Corps web site. This page links to reputable charities and nongovernmental organizations providing disaster relief.

As Americans it is our responsibility to lend a helping hand to those in need around the world. We must show our true nature as a generous nation. Please choose an organization on the web site and donate whatever amount you can right away!

We wish you a happy, more accessible New Year in 2005! Let’s resolve to take some positive, definitive action in the new year to improve our overall condition as blind people through the enhancement of information access and public transportation options.

How frustrated would you be if you bought a piece of relatively complex electronic equipment only to receive absolutely no documentation as to how to use it effectively? Well, this happens all the time to those of us who happen to be blind. Even worse, it happens not only with mainstream companies, but also with companies doing business in the blindness field. That’s right. Companies selling us products specially designed to meet our needs are failing to provide appropriate manuals or other documentation in alternative formats. This current state of affairs represents an injustice we must not allow to stand unchallenged.

We purchase alternative products to meet our needs. These products can range from assistive high technology such as screen reading software to low technology for daily living and leasure such as talking microwaves, talking clocks and many other such devices. While the assistive technology products do tend to include proper accessible documentation, the lower technology products often do not despite the fact that their operation can sometimes be quite complex, especially when used by people who are not familiar with technology.

We purchase special blindness related products when the mainstream equivalents do not meet our needs. It is often very difficult to use a mainstream microwave oven, especially if no Braille labels have been applied. We are simply unable to read a clock with a visual display due to our physical lack of eye sight. Other mainstream electronics include menus, touch screens and other complex interfaces which have been designed to be usable only to the sighted.

We spend more money on our products because they are designed for a small market as compared to the sighted mass market. Their prices are at least between three and ten times that of the same product for the sighted. Sometimes, that pricing is even higher for us. Since we’re purchasing products designed for us and since we’re often paying large sums of money for these products as compared to the rest of the world, we are right to have certain basic customer expectations. First, we obviously expect the product to be of high quality and to meet the stated need for which it was purchased. Second, we expect to receive all documentation and related materials for that product in a format we can use. That means we expect to receive all written materials in accessible, alternative formats other than print. Print only documentation for these products is simply unacceptable.

There is a specific issue at play concerning the improper lack of provision of accessible documentation on the part of a company in the blindness field. It is a very disappointing scenario concerning Christmas gifts. We are currently working with this company to obtain proper, professional resolution to the issue. Be assured that the outcome of this situation will be covered in great detail in these pages.

Have you received inaccessible, incomplete or incorrect product documentation from a company doing business in the blindness industry? What have you done about it? All comments are welcome.

We wish you a very merry, accessible Christmas!

I love being the first to discover something and release information about it to the rest of the world, especially since that rarely happens for me. It happened this time and I even posted a quick note to a couple of the blindness related mailing lists.

Freedom Scientific has released the OpenBook 7.02 update sometime today! The most important facility in this free update to OpenBook 7.02 is updated OCR engines, including FineReader 7.0! Learn more at the following link:

http://www.hj.com/fs_products/software_OB702.asp

This has been another message from the common sense, reality based accessibility advocate who is looking out for you! All comments appreciated as always.

I just tried creating a Google account to facilitate participation in groups and other services. I was stopped dead in my tracks for one and only one reason; blindness! See, like many web sites, the creation of a Google account requires typing text shown in a verification graphic. No audio alternative is provided for this information.

The use of verification graphics is intended to test for the presence of a live human being rather than the use of a script or other automated system. This technique prevents the creation of hundreds of accounts by spammers and others who might abuse Internet resources.

Verification graphics without accessible audio alternatives are testing for the presence of only a sighted human being since blind human beings are physically unable to see the graphic. From the point of view of blind people, these are the characteristics of inaccessible security verification graphics:

• They are intended to test for the presence of a real, live human user.
• Blind people are human users.
• Inaccessible verification graphics exclude blind people.
• They thus fly in the face of our very humanity and personhood.

Verification schemes without appropriately accessible alternatives must be challenged at every turn and their creators must implement corrective actions that empower blind people to avail themselves of all products and services that are available to the sighted. If you are the creator of such a scheme, we in the blind community are more than happy to help you make it accessible. All you must do is ask and you shall receive. If you are a fellow blind Internet user, please comment with ideas on the types of actions we can take to make graphical verification systems accessible.

Bookshare is a revolutionary service that provides tens of thousands of accessible electronic books to subscribers who are blind or have other print reading disabilities. Bookshare volunteers scan printed books, perform optical character recognition, clean the text and publish their results for subscribers to download and read on their computers and portable reading devices. The service operates legally under exceptions in United States copyright laws permitting redistribution of books in alternative formats by non-profit organizations serving people with print disabilities.

Bookshare staff must insure that books go only to qualified users with print reading disabilities. This necessitates a disability verification process. This process could be painful and inaccessible, but it is not so in the case of Bookshare subscription.

Bookshare permits two methods of disability verification. The first and simplest involves Bookshare staff contacting NLS, verifying your subscription to their services, and thus verifying your disability with no further action needed on the part of the new subscriber. The second involves the completion of some paperwork on the part of a doctor or other qualified professional verifying your disability. Even the second, more complicated verification process is as accessible as it possibly could be. The process was well thought out and involves the following steps, which can be totally accessible to the blind subscriber:

1. Subscriber completes an accessible online form.
2. Subscriber prints the resulting form and presents it to a qualified professional such as a doctor.
3. That professional completes and signs their portion and sends it to Bookshare by way of a FAX.
4. Bookshare receives it and promptly sets you up as a qualified subscriber to download copyrighted books.

Providing reasonable, accessible accomodations to the blind does not have to be very difficult at all. All that is required is some professionalism and thoughtfulness on the part of the service provider and all of its employees. This is really all we ask for: a little bit of respect and proper consideration for us and our needs.

As always, comments are appreciated.

Today Karen contacted the Talking Book Library to have her NLS services transferred or reestablished. She had tried this in the past without success: receiving paperwork which was only in print and thus lost and never completed.

For anyone who does not already know about this service, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) is a division of the Library of Congress that provides books and magazines to the blind and those with print disabilities in either Braille or audio recorded formats. A person who requires these services can safely be presumed to be unable to effectively work with printed information.

Understandably, there are processes for verifying disability and establishing NLS services. Here in Arizona, the NLS services are administered by the Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library Division. Though some paperwork must be completed, it is unjust for such an agency to fail to properly assist the blind applicant for services. In fact, it is an ethical, moral and perhaps even a legal obligation for this agency to make reasonable accomodations.

Let me start by relating the story of Karen’s call to the Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library Division early this afternoon. After explaining that she needed to either transfer or reestablish NLS services, she was told that she would need to complete some paperwork and was asked for her address to which it could be sent. Karen indicated that she was blind and would require some assistance in order to complete this paperwork. Karen was further told by the staff member answering the phone that this would require sighted assistance and that she could not help her, saying that she “had to go”… The woman further told Karen to get off her “soap box”. There are obviously a number of problems with this dialogue, the following items being only a partial list:

• Unwillingness to provide any reasonable accomodations.
• Poor customer service.
• Rudeness and a perception of general disrespect for people with disabilities.
• Lack of professionalism.

As blind people and as human beings in general, we must not accept such inappropriate conduct. We have e-mailed a letter to the management of the Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library Division insisting on proper resolution of this matter and will keep everyone posted on how this situation plays out.

We insist on the following characteristics as they relate to agencies, companies and organizations serving us specifically as people with disabilities:

• Respect and professionalism.
• All correspondence in an accessible, non-printed format.
• Reasonable accomodations in all dealings, including necessary paperwork.

We will accept nothing less!

If you are an Arizona resident with a print related disability and you have experienced accessibility issues with the Arizona State Braille and Talking Book Library Division, I strongly urge you to e-mail them at btbl@lib.az.us to inform them of the issues and insist on proper resolution.

Have you experienced accessibility related problems with your state’s cooperating NLS library and what actions have worked in getting them resolved? Please post your answers so they may help all of us.

I am writing today about the experiences my girlfriend and I constantly encounter when trying to receive packages shipped to us through companies such as the Postal Service and UPS. Just as is the case with most of life, there are special obstacles with which we must deal as blind people. I hope the sharing of these experiences and some ideas to solve these package delivery and tracking issues help you in your daily life. I thought this topic would be most appropriate since many of us will be receiving Christmas packages.

I purchased a Christmas gift for my girlfriend online. It was shipped via UPS and I was provided with the tracking number. Each day or two I monitored the package’s status on ups.com. I was happy to find that it would be delivered on Friday, December 17. Sadly, I didn’t receive it yesterday as expected. The UPS web site indicated that it was in “post card” status due to an incorrect street address. Given the lateness of the hour and the fact that I was by myself at work and thus not safely able to call UPS on the telephone, I sent an e-mail through ups.com to insure they had the correct address and ask when the package could be redelivered.

The response from Christine at UPS came this morning. I was invited to pick up the package at the Phoenix delivery center! This is, of course, the typical sighted response, since the world is designed for those who are sighted and thus easily able to drive their automobiles over to that delivery center to pick up the package. Not so easily done for those of us whom happen to be blind and thus unable to transport ourselves. Could I physically pick up the package? Yes. I could ride the bus or take a cab. Here in the Phoenix area, and especially given the location of this particular delivery center, taking the bus would not be practical. Taking a cab would be very expensive. Hey, didn’t I already pay the shipping costs? Yes. I sure did, just like everyone else.

Deciding that the additional expense of a cab ride was inappropriate, I called the UPS call center at 800-PICKUPS. After providing the tracking number, I was again invited to pick up the package. Insisting that this added cost was not acceptable, it was finally agreed that another delivery attempt would be made, using the corrected street address information. Sadly, it can’t be delivered until Tuesday. At least, it will be on time for Christmas. I will, of course, not explicitly trust what UPS agents tell me. I will monitor the ups.com web site periodically throughout the day until the package is in my hot little (not so little) hands… We’ll discuss accountability and trust issues in other posts…

I have devised a partial solution to most package delivery issues (at least with UPS) when receiving packages at home. Due to the nature of this particular package, I had it delivered to my work address. This should have been an advantage, since we’re always staffed and our office manager would have accepted the package on my behalf. Only the incorrect address caused trouble. You’ll see later how I have the telephone number for the local UPS office in the city in which I live and how that usually helps with package delivery.

As I have already stated, we experience package delivery issues on a regular basis. The following are examples of how this process is currently inaccessible to blind people, who are unable to independently read print or transport themselves:

• Printed notices left on the door or in the mailbox.
• Assumptions that the package could be picked up rather than redelivered.
• Failure to accomodate the scheduling needs of working people by delivering packages only during week days with insufficient arrangements to deliver later in the evenings or on weekends.
• Improper handling of our special materials, such as bent or smashed Braille!

Karen and I have come up with a solution to most of these issues that usually works quite well, at least with UPS. UPS cooperates with this solution, while the Postal Service tends to be more difficult. Even with the Postal Service, we ultimately get our packages, but only after lots of telephone calls and absolute insistence that the Postal Service simply follow through and do the right thing!

Several years ago, when we first encountered trouble with UPS, we called their 800 number and insisted on a direct return telephone call from the local office so that we could resolve the issue at hand. When that call came, we used our talking caller ID to obtain the office’s local telephone number. UPS doesn’t like to voluntarily give that information to customers. Here’s how we have solved the package delivery issues with UPS:

1. Obtain the UPS tracking number from the person or company shipping the package.
2. Use the ups.com web site or call 1-800-PICKUPS to track the package on a daily basis.
3. When you see that the package has been scheduled for delivery, call your local UPS office, not the national number if possible.
4. Give the tracking number, tell the representative that you’re blind, and request a reasonable delivery alternative that does not involve your picking up the package. Tell the representative that you do not have reliable transportation, so the stock answers won’t meet your needs. Our request typically involves placing the package on the latest possible delivery route so that we will be home to receive it in the evening. If the first representative you speak with does not seem to care about your situation or otherwise seems not to understand your request, ask to speak with someone in a supervisory role.
5. You will receive your package. Sometimes, it will be one or two days later than it would have been for the sighted customer, but this process will insure that you do receive it in a reasonable manner.

Karen and I hope these suggestions help you to insure your receipt of your packages. Whenever possible, we recommend using UPS as the carrier, since they seem to put forth the best effort in dealing with blind customers.

We do have one question. How can we prevent the Postal Service from mangling our Braille materials? As always, all comments are appreciated.