A Conversation About Work: Eric Patterson

Summary:
Meet Eric Patterson, a computer applications specialist who is totally blind. He's just one example of an individual with a disability who represents an untapped resource for recruiters.

Meet Eric Patterson

In His Own Words

Reflections

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Meet Eric Patterson

You often hear that some employers tend to avoid hiring people who are blind or have other disabilities simply because they are uncomfortable with such differences. That's understandable. Most people have not had an opportunity to meet and get to know someone who can't see very well or at all.

Others, also not having this familiarity, unconsciously judge what people who are blind can do by what they imagine blindness would be like for themselves.

So, for simple, understandable personal reasons, employers who may have embraced inclusive work in every other way hesitate to make the final step in developing an inclusive workplace -- hiring those with disabilities.

Meeting Eric Patterson, a young Oregonian who has been blind since birth, is like meeting any young, sharp, ambitious but conscientious person. His passion is computers and helping others. He exudes an earnest desire to be the best in his profession. Patterson has worked continually since high school. He takes the initiative in every case. He communicates his needs accurately. And he offers excellent ideas, insights and advice when asked. In short, Patterson is an outstanding employee.

We invite you to get to know Patterson through the conversation we had with him and some of those he has impressed. When you get to know him, see in him many of the aspirations you have yourself and learn how little he allows his disability to interfere with his plans, you will come to see that blindness is, after all, merely a matter of mechanics.

In that light, is there any reason why young people such as Patterson should not have an opportunity to help you contribute to the further success of your organization?

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In His Own Words

eSight Careers Network: When did you get your first work experience?

Patterson: In the summer of 1993, I attended a Summer Work Experience Program in Portland, Ore. I worked for Oregon Public Broadcasting and stayed in a college dormitory. During this time, I had to get to work and do my own shopping, using the city transit system. My job required everything from reception work to announcing weather observations. I even set up some programs on the automation system.

eSight Careers Network: Did you enjoy the work? What did you do to make it accessible?

Patterson: At Oregon Public Broadcasting, most of the adaptations I needed were already there, since most of the employees were visually impaired. I used a PC with the ASAP screen reader and the sounding board speech system to keep a program directory. The levers on the control board were marked so I knew which device I was working with. They were numbered in series -- like unit 1 and unit 2. I had a Braille list of which each number meant. For example, "1" was the announcer's microphone and "6" was the VCR. Next to each dial, there were three buttons. The "off" button had a Braille cell on it, so I knew which button I was pushing.

Overall, I thought they treated me OK. The thing that I really didn't like was the technical director's use of strong language. He seemed to swear over everything that went wrong. Strong language doesn't teach me anything. It only makes me feel self-conscious.

Here's one example. One afternoon he was frustrated because the station was off the air for six minutes. He was talking to me in a very harsh tone and would use one swear word in at least every other sentence. Instead of learning what to do differently, I was feeling stressed out because I thought I was in trouble and was about to get terminated. I think if he would have been more conversational and did not swear so much, I would have been better able to learn the equipment and what to do if a given situation occurred.

eSight Careers Network: What did you do after the summer program?

Patterson: I attended the DO-IT summer study at the University of Washington. I got to live in the dormitory and meet with several students with a variety of disabilities. This was the time when I first learned to use e-mail. I was accessing the university's server through a telnet application and using Pine (see Related Link) to send my messages.

In about November, 1993 (during my fourth year in high school), the DO-IT Program provided me with a PC to use to send my messages. This was a 486 with a DECtalk PC speech synthesizer, and it had several features that were not included on my (older) PC. Some of those features included a scanner, a Braille printer and the Open Book reading program, which I used to scan printed documents. I kept in contact with all my teammates at the university. I would give them advice and contact them, if I needed any assistance.

eSight Careers Network: Did you get to do any more radio work?

Patterson: In 1994, I attended the Summer Work Experience Program again. This time, I was working for a community radio station. These people were not the easiest to work with. I did not have a lot of experience in radio but was very determined to learn. All they had me doing was labeling CDs and other recordings. In fact, on the second day I was there, I had to leave because the volunteer coordinator wasn't there. I talked to the station manager and program director and asked them what I could do. They did not have any work for me. As a result, I had to take that day off when I really didn't want to.

eSight Careers Network: What do you think the problem was?

Patterson: The real truth of the matter was that the station had hired me, but they didn't have the staff to train me. I would offer to do several things, including reception work and announcing the community calendar, but they always refused my offer. When I heard about this, I reported it to the job coach at the commission (Oregon Commission for the Blind). One of the counselors came to work with me a couple times. However, it didn't pay off. In the end, I had to change jobs because the staff at the community radio station just would not work with me.

eSight Careers Network: After your experience with the community radio station, what is your advice for organizations that recruit volunteers who are disabled?

Patterson:

1. Get to know the disabled candidate before you say whether you are not going to hire him. Learn about his level of experience, what he hopes to learn by doing the job and what kinds of adaptations he needs.
   
   
2. Give him a clear explanation about what the job requires. Give him a chance to ask questions so he can decide whether he wants to work there.
   
   
3. Learn about the adaptive equipment he uses. Give him a chance to demonstrate it, if he has it on hand. If he does not have the equipment at the time of the interview, ask him where he can get it before you refuse to hire him.
   
   

If you are not able to work with him for whatever reason, let him know right up-front so he can look for other options. Don't just hire him and then say that you don't have the staff to train him. You both need to make sure that his experience is educational.

eSight Careers Network: You mentioned how much you got out of having access to e-mail. Have you found the Web to be helpful, too?

Patterson: During (the DO-IT summer session), I first learned how to access the Web using Lynx. It helped me do Internet research in all my future education.

My senior year in high school was one of the best years I can remember. I got to do a senior project on (amateur) radio, and I gave a demonstration about how to use the radio to communicate with people in different parts of the U.S.

eSight Careers Network: And after high school ...

Patterson: I attended the 1995 Summer Work Experience Program and worked at the Oregon Text Book and Media Center. I got to use my computer skills for the first time on the job. My job required downloading electronic text off the Internet to translate into Braille. It was this experience that led me to explore computer-related careers.

eSight Careers Network: What opportunities did you get to follow up on your interests?

Patterson: I attended the Oregon School for the Blind for a transition year. This was a program designed to help me learn independent living skills, such as mobility and cooking. Living at the institution was probably the worst environment that I can ever recall living in. I lived under very strict policies. If I ever needed to go to town for any reason, I had to document my trip at least two days before I planned to go. If my trip wasn't documented, I had to stay on campus. In addition, I was not allowed in the dormitory on my own without counselors around.

eSight Careers Network: No, I don't think I'd like that either! What about college?

Patterson: (After that summer), I started investigating community colleges. The one I finally chose was Mt. Hood Community College because it had so many disability resources. They had an adaptive technology specialist who taught the students computer skills and set up workstations with speech output when students needed them. In addition, they had staff to record my books.

eSight Careers Network: What were your career goals?

Patterson: When I first started college, I didn't know what I wanted to do. However, after having training on Windows-based computer programs and the chance to use the PC in a work environment, I chose computer applications.

In the spring of 1997, I attended the computer fair at the University of Washington. I got to talk to visitors about the different kinds of adaptive technology available and gave group presentations about my experiences with computers.

I completed an internship at Oregon Public Broadcasting where I was supposed to get college credit from the Cooperative Education Program. This was the first time I got to take advantage of a program that allowed me to get school credit for my work. My job required me to operate the control board and keep the station on the air. In addition, I kept an electronic directory on the computer, which showed all the programs we ran.

eSight Careers Network: It sounds like the internships were very useful for your career development. Did you have any others?

Patterson: Yes. I interned at the Oregon Commission for the Blind. This job gave me the chance to do research on the different kinds of adaptive technology, including screen readers, speech synthesizers and Braille displays. I also got to teach students how to use various applications, including JAWS for Windows, Open Book OCR software and Internet Explorer.

This internship earned me my first recommendation. The recommendation helped me get my next internship in 1999, which was at the public library. I taught library staff how to access on-line resources, using the keyboard and speech output. I did research about how to make libraries accessible. I earned my second recommendation.

eSight Careers Network: How quickly did you find a job after you graduated college?

Patterson: When I was talking to a job counselor at the commission, she recommended me to Stream International, which is a large technical support firm. To apply for this job, I traveled all the way across town and took a computer-related test. This included several questions about Windows and Internet Applications. In an effort to increase my chances of getting the job, I turned in my resume and both of my recommendations. I passed without any trouble. After that, I had to take other tests about customer service and was finally interviewed for the job.

eSight Careers Network: Was getting hired the only obstacle?

Patterson: No. When I got hired, I still had the problem of getting adaptive technology. I did not get much information from the employer. He kept making statements that seemed hard for me to believe. For example, he said that he could not disclose any information about what operating system I would be using. I really needed this to get the proper equipment. By working with the technology specialist at the commission, I was finally able to get the tools I needed.

eSight Careers Network: You are very willing to share your experiences, good and bad.

Patterson: I really like to share my frustrations and other experiences with people. There are two reasons for this. It gives me a chance to give advice to other disabled people about how to survive in the workforce, and it allows me to ask other people's advice about what to do in the future.

As for the problems of obtaining adaptive technology, I think it helps to educate disabled people about what adaptive technology is on the market and how to obtain it and utilize it on the job.

The initial interview (for the library internship) was a challenge because of some of the assumptions that the volunteer coordinator was making. She assumed that the only volunteer (work) I would be able to do was working at home. I would be forwarding documentation to the library staff so it could be converted to online format. I guess she made this assumption because the computers in the library were not accessible. When I suggested working on projects to help make the library more accessible, she slowly changed her mind after talking to the automations director.

eSight Careers Network: What do you do at Stream International?

Patterson: There were several teams I could have joined, but the one I finally started working on was DSL support, which is the digital subscriber line. It allows users to access the Internet at higher speeds than dial-up service and be online and on the phone at the same time.

eSight Careers Network: You obviously are a dedicated and hard worker. How do you think this affects potential employers' attitude about you as a blind job candidate? Do you spotlight this dedication when you interview? How?

Patterson: I think that, overall, being a dedicated employee makes employers more willing to hire me, especially since it shows on my resume and recommendations. However, I can still see the possibility that some employers might resist hiring me for several reasons. Some might not accept the fact that I have to hook up special tools to their computers in order to do the job. They might not want to have a portable speech synthesizer plugged into their PCs or screen reading software installed on their hard drives. Other employers might resist because the job involves the use of visual software. It might require the use of help desk software or graphics that is not speech-friendly.

I do spotlight my dedication during interviews. I do this by having my resume and recommendations on hand so the employers can ask for them. In addition, I share information about things I have done that show I'm a good worker, such as earning quality service awards and recommendations.

Another important thing to show during an interview is how you will work around your visual impairment while on the job. This might involve sharing any adaptations that you use. If employers want, you can demonstrate some of it during the interview. For example, if your job requires a lot of computer work and you use speech software to read the computer screen, you could give a demonstration, using a portable computer with the speech software, if you have access to such equipment.

eSight Careers Network: How would you say you are doing at work?

Patterson: As time goes on, my call evaluation scores have improved. On a scale of one to five, my first call scored 1.54. However, from that time on, all of my scores have been four or higher. I have received two awards for having calls with perfect scores and hope to have more calls like that during my career.

eSight Careers Network: How do you feel about your work and the job you are doing? You sound like you have some well-founded pride in what you do.

Patterson: I must say that I really enjoy my job overall.

However, just like everything, it has its frustrations. One of the biggest frustrations is keeping track of every call. I have to write down every call I receive and make sure that it gets logged into my database. If it is a long call, it is hard to find time to write down all my information. I can't concentrate on what I am doing, if I have to listen to the speech and the customer at the same time. I sometimes use hold time, if I am waiting to get in touch with a mentor, technician at an Internet service or anyone else.

The biggest frustration is dealing with frustrated people, especially those who use strong language on the phone. It becomes difficult to instruct them about what needs to be done, and I am always afraid that I am going to get in trouble because they have called back and insisted on talking to a higher authority.

When I first got this job, I learned about a whole different kind of technology. I was not familiar with DSL, and it was kind of a slow learning experience. When I first started taking calls, I called the resource line frequently on every one of those calls. However, I got good enough at DSL support where I could create documents about how to resolve the different types of problems and send them to another employee who is also visually impaired.

I guess it just goes to show what happens when you are persistent at what you are trying to do.

eSight Careers Network: Very well said. Thanks, Eric!

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Reflections

Along the way, Eric has gained a lot of respect from those with whom he has worked. Here are just a few of their comments.

Sara L. Lopez, project coordinator, DO-IT CAREERS:

"Eric both offers terrific advice to younger students in addition to taking advantage of career guidance from his peers and other professionals active as mentors."

Winslow Parker, Adaptive Technology Specialist, Oregon Commission for the Blind:

"(Eric) was thorough and persistent in doing the research and prompt in delivering his results. He graciously accepted advice in changing his reports to more closely reflect the aims and goals of the Technology Center."

Lucien Kress, Information Systems Supervisor, Multinomah County Library, Portland, Ore.:

"Eric is very knowledgeable about computers and software and especially knowledgeable in the area of adaptive technology. He is an effective writer and trainer. We appreciated Eric's reliability, productivity and ability to work with little supervision. In addition to completing assignments quickly, he suggested and completed additional projects that proved to be valuable to the Library."

For every Eric Patterson who strives against the odds to earn the respect of his employers and associates, there are dozens of equally capable people with disabilities who never get the chance. Patterson's story offers an insight into what a young blind man can bring to the table: a firm work ethic, a positive attitude matched with a clear sense of his own worth and an intense desire to have a life full of excellent and rewarding work. These are the very qualities that make Patterson, and so many others like him, a model candidate for today's corporate team.

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