[NFBWATLK] Frustrated

Fri Apr 28 21:55:23 UTC 2017

Hi,
I can empathize with you very directly. I have spent years trying to do
something from home using my computer. I have sometimes convinced myself
that I was just not techy enough to do their work, however, the real truth
is that most of the software out there is inaccessible and they're not very
interested in changing it. I've been excited about starting something new so
many times, only to find out that the system is not accessible. Buttons are
not labeled, sometimes Jaws will not say a thing so I have no clue what is
going on, some info moves on the screen so that even when I read a line
once, it disappears, check boxes don't check and uncheck, combo boxes don't
work, links won't activate by using keyboard commands, some of the info is
somewhere else on the screen where I can't find it at all, and so on. 

One of the most frustrating things for me is that some websites and programs
will be really pretty good and then there is this one thing that doesn't
work right, that makes it impossible for me to work wth. That is almost more
frustrating than something being a total mess. eBay and Amazon are cases in
point. They keep changing things, too, so it is difficult for us to keep up
with them and for things to stay accessible. I've wanted to have an Amazon
store, or sell on eBay and so far, have been unable to do so. 

I sure can feel your frustration and, yes, we do still have a long ways to
go out there, even if some blind people don't admit it.
Thanks,
Lauren

Blessings in Jesus' name. "But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each
morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my
refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress."
   --Psalm 59:16, NLT
Advice from my cats:"meow when you feel like it." 

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBWATLK [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kris via
NFBWATLK
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 9:50 AM
To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Kris <tishgifts at gmail.com>
Subject: [NFBWATLK] Frustrated

Hello all,

It's been a while. I hope to make another meeting soon.

In the meantime, I thought I would air frustrations to a community that
could understand. Now that I live in Belfair Washington, public
transportation is even more scarce. Not impossible, though. So yes, I have
been looking for work at home options. There are a lot more out there than
there used to be. Granted, most of them are customer service. While that is
not my hearts desire, I would and I am starting to look at that as well.

However, I am going to share my journey for a moment if you don't mind. Many
of the on line employment opportunities have assessments. Some of these
assessments are accessible and some of them are not. Recently, I took an
assessment for a company that was looking for people to correct English and
math Mattix tests for students from kindergarten all the way up through a
professional exams. By the time I was done, my head was pounding him but I
did it. I passed the assessment. I did it on my own without help from either
of my kids reading the screen. I meant their requirements which included
sending my college transcripts. I signed all kinds of confidentiality
paperwork. I was hired! When the first day of training arrived, I was ready.
I sat down with my cup of coffee, my headphones plugged in and ready to
work. I read through all of the training material in PDF. I clicked the
start training button, and that's when it happened.

Can you guess? All of a sudden I'm running into buttons that are not
labeled. A frame that is blank. Links that are labeled link, link, link. Was
this my fault? Didn't I understand my screen reading program properly? I
tried several options.. due to the confidentiality stuff, my kids were not
here so they could not check what was on the screen. So I did what was
suggested and contacted technical support.

Instead of getting blown off, technical support called me back. Jennifer and
I spent an hour with her starting to understand about in the D a and doing a
remote view on my computer. Finally after an hour on the phone together she
realized this would have to be sent back to the developers. I gave her as
much information as I had and she said she would get back to me as soon as
possible. Hopefully things could be fixed. However since students work was
scanned into their system in bulk batches because of the volume of the work
she wasn't not sure what could be done.

This morning I got an email. Can you guess what it said? Basically, even
though I am qualified for the position because their software is unable to
work with my software and there is no way for them to make it so that
braille or screen reading programs can read the scanned documents, so sorry
Charlie. However, we will pay you for the time that you spent on the phone
with our technical support person and that you attempted training. Thank you
very much for your time and good luck on your future endeavors.

This was the furthest I've gotten in my online job hunting. Actually being
hired. The other two positions that I qualified for, that they sent me to
further assessments, I never got past their final assessment because it was
in accessible. One of them was even writing letters for political change.
So, if anyone ever tells you that we do not need to keep fighting and we do
not need to keep educating the general public they are wrong.

I really do hope to see a lot of you soon. I hope you have a great day! Keep
moving forward!

Kris Colcock

Sent from my iPhone
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