 I have a mobility impairment. I'm dyslexic, which means I have difficulty reading and pretty bad handwriting. And I became legally blind at 25. And I'm a graduate from the University of Washington's Master of Human-Computer Interaction and Design program. My major in that is human-centered computing. I'm an undergraduate at Auburn University, majoring in computer science and focusing in accessibility. Words appear. Leading the way, computing students and professionals with disabilities. I'm Richard Ladnder, professor in computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. We rely on computers, tablets and smartphones to do work and stay connected more than ever. Not only can technology provide access to people with disabilities, but people with disabilities can be part of the computing workforce as software and web engineers, systems administrators, usability engineers and researchers. I am a software development engineer at Amazon. Michael. So I started programming when I was around 15. I've always been really into computers. I used to play a lot of audio games. Those are basically like video games, but they use sound instead of graphics. I was really into those. You know, I really wanted to create games, and that's what really got me into programming. My name is Jesse Shulman, and I'm an operations program manager in the web services field and a graduate of the University of Washington. And I have a learning disability, so I struggle with language to begin with. So learning computer syntax like Java, all the problems that I had, the struggles that I had with English came up again with Java. So the early coursework was really difficult for me. But when I stuck with it, I really enjoyed the data structure classes that came later on. Vincent. I don't just have a passion for it. I live it. I breathe and think what I can do with a computer or with computing systems. And that's why I have six of them. And I do everything imaginable for my goal is to see what can be done instead of what can't be done. Anna Marie. There's nowhere you can look in computing and not find a challenge. I'm the kind of person who when I come across one of those little challenges, I keep digging and digging and digging until I can find the answer and figure out how to fix the problem. Sam Sines. I'm Sam Seppa. I'm an HR professional and I've worked for a variety of tech companies over the last ten years of my career. And now I'm focusing on recruitment for software engineers. Students are attracted to computing for a variety of reasons. My name is Cindy Bennett and I'm a first year PhD student in the Human-Centered Design and Engineering Department at the University of Washington. My name is Haitians. I am an undergrad at QDAPTACOMA. So I'm finishing my BS in Information Technology at QDAPTACOMA. My name is Jessie. I am a fourth year student at the University of Washington. I've been joining in Information Technology at QDAPTACOMA. And I get to find my son as a guide. My disability is complex. There is one that started from birth, which is my right arm. So I just do everything with my left arm. Computing is interesting to me because I can combine my two passions to create an impact. So I have a passion for psychology and creating a user experience that people really enjoy. And I have a passion for using technology to improve people's lives. It is important for people with disabilities to pursue careers in science because we have really unique life experiences and skills that we can offer. And it's important that for us to be stakeholders in projects and for us to be represented on the market. What I would like to do is to go into security, which is becoming a hot subject today. So I think that's really important for people with disabilities like me, my son, to be included in a competitive field because technology has played a huge role. It has played a better access to lots of work. So for example, the cochlear implants have to heal a lot. But also the Texas system has to be used for phones, computer messages and systems. People with disabilities can receive accommodations and use technology to help them in school and in the workplace. My main accommodations would be extended time on tests, having my books available as e-text format, which means I can use a screen reader to read out the books to me. So even though when I'm reading it myself and I may not be able to understand it, the computer is telling me exactly what those words are. Many devices come equipped with accessible features including larger text, text to speech and spell checking. I use a typical computer like everyone else, but it has an additional piece of software called a screen reader loaded onto it. The screen reader tells me what is on the screen and I use the keyboard to navigate. Basically the information that comes up on the screen gets converted to information I can hear, or it can be then converted into something that I can use a Braille display to read with as well. I do not accommodate and use almost every day, it's called C-A-R-T, which stands for communication access real time. And so what it is, is capturing a device that real time capturing it, that I can read the transcript on the screen while your professor is talking in real time. The accommodations that I used in school included books on tape. I used a note taker for certain classes and I used dictation software for my writing tasks. At work I use a text to speech for some of my written tasks, writing emails, large papers, it helps me proofread and write more quickly. People with disabilities can be valuable team members who bring fresh perspectives to classrooms, labs and workplaces. And at Cospy, Tasker Center for Accessible Technology. Regardless of your ability, you can create, you can be an innovator in a space. Being a problem solver is definitely really important when you're a software developer and if you're someone with disability, it's something that you have to do pretty regularly since, you know, we're faced with challenges all the time, we have to find solutions to them. So that probably makes us better problem solvers and, you know, it's definitely a good trait to have when you're working in this field. I work in an environment where it's not who you are, it's what solutions do you bring to the table. Are you willing to work with other people? Are you thinking about all of these different teams, all of these different options? SAM signs. Candidates with disabilities have a unique thought process to bring to a company. Our country is diverse, so the marketplace needs to attract a lot of diverse people who will use products that we're selling or the services we're providing. If a country is diverse, your team needs to be diverse as well to parallel what our country's demographics are. Words appear. For more information about access computing and resources related to increasing the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields, consult UW.edu forward slash access computing. Access computing is supported by the National Science Foundation grant number CNS-153-9179. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this video are those of the authors that do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Copyright 2016. Permission is granted to copy these materials for educational non-commercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged.