Conference marks 40 years of tech helping people overcome disabilities
MINNEAPOLIS -- The legacy of a frustrated southern Minnesota mother who changed the world was in full swing Tuesday. The matriarch came up with the idea to use computers to help people with disabilities communicate.
From Sensee, a braille translation company from South Korea, to software from the Netherlands that helps people who are non-speaking speak – it all started in Henderson, Minnesota.
Megan Turek's parents were hardly alone in their frustrations a half century ago. Turek's brother, who is deaf, explains.
"No one knew what to do, they had no help, they didn't know what to do with me," Marc Hagen said.
"They really saw computers as assistive technology, which wasn't even a term then really, (and) went to work to share that with other people," Turek said.
So they started Closing the Gap, an annual conference that's now 40 years old. There, they have been showing how tech can bring freedom, like the cochlear implant did for Hagen said.
"It was like, 'What is that sound? Is that my son crying?' And it sounded beautiful and I just broke down and cried," he said.
Jordan Zimmerman knows the feeling. She is non-speaking but now has audible words to share.
"I started communicating with my iPad at 18, first by pictures then by typing. It gave me a lot of freedom, not only in myself, but also for others to see me as a dynamic person," Zimmerman said. "I was able to graduate high school, attend college, get my Masters and now contribute to my community in big ways."
For more on the conference and group, click here. The exhibit hall is open and free to anyone on the third floor of the Hilton.
