- 31 May 07, 01:37 PM
, the national charity which offers a range of services to help disabled people access technology and the internet, has a UK network of home testers who have a range of physical, sensory and cognitive impairments, dyslexia and literacy difficulties, and with a range of web surfing experience. However, they are always interested in adding people to this network as their work in this area grows - and right now, they are particularly looking for anyone with dyslexia who might be interested in taking part.
AbilityNet pay their testers £10 an hour for their work, on receipt of their fully written-up findings. A typical job may take up to 2 or 3 hours, including write-up time. The testing is done at home on the tester's own computer, and in their own time.
If you, or someone you know, has an impairment of any kind that (importantly) impacts upon your computer use and you would like to be considered for one of these roles, please email accessibility@abilitynet.org.uk. [Many thanks to for the heads-up about this.]
"I'm a cripster and a visual artist, with chronic pain from head to toe and a lot of fatigue. You could say I put the 'ill' in disability. I have a whole collection of 'impairments' (as you Brits say) that make daily life a challenge, and blogging and creating art essential.
"I’m Jenny and I’m a 23 year old aspiring writer who blogs as Giraffe-a-licious. Journalistic writing rather than creative; I can’t write stories or poetry for toffee. Mmmm ... toffee.
"I'm a 34-year-old attorney and policy consultant living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I work for a state agency which focuses primarily on issues related to health care and employment for people with disabilities. I have spinal muscular atrophy, a congenital neuromuscular condition.
"I’m a thirtysomething woman who has experienced bipolar disorder (manic depression) all of my working life. I have held down several jobs in two careers and gained three higher education qualifications, but it has not been easy. I have climbed up the career ladder only to be eaten by a few snakes, but I have learnt to become a master of reinvention and quickly bounce back.
"I am a dancer in the second year of my professional career. I dance with a physically integrated company on the West Coast and spend the rest of my time in New York City. Dance is my third career, but I have just about got it right, now. Dance is more than work; it is my passion. The feeling of freedom, of just pure movement, of dance ... is, well, indescribable. I nonetheless try very hard to write about it (and other disability issues, including intersections with race, gender, and class) on my blog."
"hello I'm jemma and I'm very new to blogging. I only stared my blog at the begining of July, so im fairly new to it all. I'm from Gospot, in Hampshire, in south England. I'm a full time student studieng for A levals. in my spare time I'm really in to camping, hikeing, and I'm a guide leader. I also do Duke of Edinbrough. My disability? I'll leave you in suspence about that one for the minute. oh and one last thing - I cant spell to save my life so please forgive me!"
"Who am I; that is the question? I'm seven months into the nationalized health service shuffle for an undiagnosed degenerative heart and neurological condition/disease which keeps me in a wheelchair and mostly housebound. Most of the panhandlers call me 'Red' (the hair), while people in my building call me 'plucky' or run away (it's not contagious!). I've lived and completed degrees equally in Canada, the US and the UK. Right now I live in the Canadian city which prides itself on being 'British'. I miss Terry Wogan. And I haven't had a decent gyro/doner since I moved.
"I would best be described as fat, fifty and four wheeled. I have worked for over thirty years in support of people with intellectual disabilities, and as a result of surgery I became a wheelchair user a year and a half ago. While I still hobble around short distances on foot, my chair is my primary means of getting around.
"I am - in no particular order - a passionate advocate of the social model of disability; multiply-impaired; a disability rights activist; a public-sector employee; an irritable old bat; the proud possessor of a variety of very funky walking sticks; and a blogger. Oh, and an MBE. Which would explain the hat. In case you were wondering.
"I hail from darkest Berkshire but am slowly edging my way north in search of the right to say ‘aye’ without sounding stupid. I am a student in the sense that I have a library card and buy gel pens with considerable frequency. Happiness is, quite clearly, instant mochacino and The Politics Show on a Sunday. I’m disabled. Obviously."
"The Goldfish is a struggling novellist who blogs about the arts and culture, disability, feminism, philosophy and psychology. Her blog, Diary of a Goldfish, also hosted Blogging Against Disablism Day in 2006 and 2007."
"I'm 28 years old and I've had arthritis for 22 years. I was diagnosed at age 6 with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JRA). I've had both hips replaced and I'm on a wait list for ankle replacement surgery or foot fusion surgery. My doctors have classified me as severely and permanently disabled. In between flare-ups, I work part-time from home. Since I'm unable to work full-time, my leisure activities and interests define who I am moreso than my career status.
"I am a 34-year-old writer, who didn't write for quite some time after becoming disabled.