|
Beyond
the Computer Screen
The internet
age has brought immense benefits for people coping with
functional
challenges, thanks to new global connections that enable
information
transfer and commercial transactions from home. For many disabled
individuals, this can mean the difference between engaging in a
productive and fulfilling work-life, and letting their valuable talents
go to
waste. When
issues of transportation or accommodation to a work
environment pose
insurmountable
obstacles, telecommuting and online entrepreneurship now offer
employment solutions that were unimaginable short years ago.
The opacity of
online enterprise also offers a protective screen
for disorders
that may cause social discomfort, but disability should never have to
be hidden, or rendered invisible. Working productively in spite of functional
challenges can be considered an accomplishment in itself,
and open discussion can
promote awareness of issues affecting the disabled in society, as
well as solidarity among people in similar circumstances.
Over the course
of the past
decade, the progression of a physical disorder has
gradually limited the range of my own activities, but this hasn’t
dampened
my
creative spirit and intellectual curiosity, or my thirst for engagement
with the dynamic, productive energy of the working world. Thanks to the
communications revolution, options for people in this situation have
never been broader.
|
