My Personal Story of Success

by Amy Brown

OKLAHOMA

My name is Amy. I am 28 years old and have cerebral palsy, which affects my right arm, both my legs, and my vision. I use a power chair to get around. As a child growing up, I always wanted my independence to prove that I could do things on my own.

In school, I had a hard time reading and writing because of my disability, but I didn't let it get me down. I graduated from high school with a 4.0 grade average. It wasn't easy-I would come home after school and spend hours on the computer just typing out one assignment that was due the next day or at the end of the week. Through the years, I tried a voice-recognition program called Via Voice, which I didn't like very much. I wasn't able to speak clearly enough for the program to understand what I wanted to say.

After graduation, I moved out of my parent's house and went to the J. D. McCarty Center for children with developmental disabilities, where I spent six months learning how to live on my own. I then worked for the Norman Public Schools in the cafeteria as a cashier entering data into the computer and receiving money when people came through with their lunches. I liked my job, but I wanted something more, something that would make a difference in not only my life but in other people's lives too. I took a job at Wal-Mart and worked there for two years as a door greeter. Because I wanted more challenging duties, I asked to be transferred to another department, but I was not allowed to change.

As a result of not being able to advance to a better job position at Wal-Mart, I decided to return to school to get a diploma as an Office Support Specialist in order to work in an office. I had heard many good things about Moore Norman Technology Center, so decided to pursue my education there. I contacted Vocational Rehabilitation Services for financial assistance, but it took me two years to get the assistance approved. In 2003, I went to Moore Norman to enroll, but I learned I did not meet the program entrance requirements. I then worked for one semester in their Academic Resource Center to improve my basic skills in order to enter the Business & Computer Technology Program. Once in the program in January 2004, I typed everything with just one hand and became very frustrated because it took so long to complete documents.

In August 2004, I changed to the Business Technology Program with Carolyn Eacret as my instructor. I knew Mrs. Eacret would help me become successful because she knew about the newest voice recognition program, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8.0. Recently, I was able to attend a voice-recognition workshop with her in Oklahoma City that Speaking Solutions was holding for instructors. In the training workshop, I was able to voice type at 67 words a minute. My typing speed using my hands was 3 words per minute. You can imagine how excited I was!

After returning to class from the workshop, I took the same keyboarding book I had used the previous year and did the lessons over again using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8.0. I finished the entire 20 lessons in a week and a half. Without this software, it would have taken me months.

I have done many promotional interviews for the J. D. McCarty Center through the years. I have been on TV a number of times telling my story to others and how the J. D. McCarty Center helped me get where I am today. I have also been to the state capital to ask the governor personally to help the center get many of the needs met in order to have a new facility.

One of my dreams is to go to work at the center. Also, I would like to help parents better understand what the J. D. McCarty Center has to offer their child. I also do a lot of mentoring to young adults who are moving on their own so they know what to expect. Most of all, I want a job that I enjoy. Helping people is what I love the most, whether it is telling my own personal stories about living on my own or whether it is telling people about voice-recognition and how it is changed my life. Someday I would love to teach someone else how to use it that would benefit as much as I have.

When I graduate, I hope to not only work in an office but also to actually teach others how to use voice recognition and tell them how it changed my life. If there is anything I could tell others about using voice recognition, it is to be patient with yourself and the program. You may not see progress at first, but believe me you will!

I would like to thank Bonnie Brockman and Speaking Solutions for giving me the opportunity to share my story. I used voice recognition to type this article.