Hello, my name is Jessica Martin.
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As you know Lekotek makes the world of play accessible to children with disabilities by providing adaptive books, toys, and computer equipment.
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My family and I participated in Compuplay in 1990, when I was 4 years old, where we could play together as a family and with other children with toys and computer equipment.
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During one of these play sessions I was asked to be part of the video you just saw being produced by Lekotec explaining their mission.
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When I was asked what I liked best about Lekotec, I said “I like the computer because it talks to me.”
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I credit Lekotec for propelling me to strive to achieve my fullest potential- because it focused on what I could do.
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Little did I know how helpful this tool would be later in my life.
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Because I have focal dystonia in my eyes, a movement disorder due to my cerebral palsy, I often lose my place while reading.
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Tonight I am going to talk about my boyfriend “Alex” and some of the adaptive software that has helped me become more independent over the years.
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Having a computer with the ability to talk to me, a feature that I thought was merely “cool” when I was a 4 year old girl, became indispensable to me as an adult.
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Not only is it “still cool”, but it is now a key to my independence!
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Now that I am working and living on my own, I mostly use co-writer.
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It helps me to type emails, to communicate via Facebook, and maintain a blog like any other young adult.
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For example, the other day I was on Facebook and I said to myself
[PAUSE] “This looks interesting” [PAUSE] but I couldn’t really read it.
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So I asked “Alex” to read it to me.
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The article on Facebook mentioned courses I could take so that I could become a certified Life Coach.
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I was so grateful that my computer could read it to me because I am really interested in getting my certification as a Life Coach. [PAUSE]
Being able to read about Life Coaching programs and other programs online
[PAUSE] ultimately will open new doors for me [PAUSE]-whether it be more education or a new career.
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I am forever blessed to have different types of technology in my life
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because without them, I would not be able to communicate efficiently with my friends who use communication devices.
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I want to help people who use communication devices because I believe everyone should be heard!
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Finally, I have to thank “My boyfriend Alex” the voice on my computer who makes it talk to me and never lets me down!
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Without him I wouldn’t be able to communicate with the world and have my independence.
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As you can tell I still like my computer because it talks to me and I thank Lecotec for allowing me to experience the world of play and for the opportunity to speak in front of you tonight.
With all of my gratitude and a very fun Halloween!
-Jessi
