5 Eye-Opening Years with the Supervisor with Visual Disabilities

“How does a person with a disability use a computer? How!”

Yes, this was my first thought when I stepped into my office on the first day. Along with this question, there were many more running through my mind about a person with a disability, such as:

• How does he walk in the office?
• How does he go to the washroom?
• How does he go for lunch?
• Is he fully blind, or can he see a little bit?
• Did our office HR really hire people with visual disabilities?

These kinds of questions were streaming through my head. I think some of us without disabilities might have had similar questions about a person with a disability.

The answer to all the above questions is my supervisor, who is a UNESCO laureate as well as a digital accessibility expert. He can do everything that a person without a disability can. He is not famous for his disability; he is famous for his work and his commitment to his community.

He can participate everywhere — if he has reasonable accommodation. He was honored by being awarded in the 2021 D-30 Disability Impact List.

He always says to me:

“If there were no sun in this world — meaning no light — then who would be considered a person with a disability? Who would teach you how to work without light? Tell me, who? Can you tell me who?”

Yes, the answer would be those who are now known as having a visual disability. They would be your teachers. (A thought from imagination.)

So, never imagine this world excluding persons with disabilities. They have the right to participate equally with others. They just need reasonable accommodation — which means ensuring universal design.

First Impressions

In this blog, I want to share some of my real-life moments with my supervisor. Let’s start with some of my early interactions.

The very first time I saw him, I saw him through the lens of the charity model of disability. (There are three types of disability models.) The ‘charity model’ views people with disability as victims who deserve pity and help.

To understand this, let me share a real-life experience:

I know a person with a visual disability who went to a government office to invite the most senior official of a division. He was simply waiting for an appointment. Suddenly, the personal secretary (PS) of that official came and said:

“Please take this money. This is for now, sir is busy today.”

The PS assumed that this man came to seek help — just because he had a visual disability. He never imagined that the man had come to invite the official.

The blind person explained,

“Please tell your boss I am not here to ask for something; I am here to offer something.”

That sentence made the PS realize his misconception. (This story is real, and fortunately, it had a good ending.)

Shifting Perspectives

Can you get the point I want to make?

There’s a deep message here: we need to change our mindset. We should not assume anything before asking the person in front of us.

It is very natural for people with disabilities to work together with the mainstream sector — there’s nothing surprising about it.

If you ask me,
“How are you experiencing having a person with a visual disability as your supervisor or boss?”

I would say it feels very normal, just like working with any other boss.

The most valuable thing I have learned from him is to be humble. I always notice that he has no ego. He has always fought for his rights.

Sometimes, I did get a few privileges because my boss couldn’t see — but my commitment to work kept me honest about it.

The Most Awkward Question

One of the most awkward questions he often faced was:

“Tell me, who am I?”

People would come to him and ask this. Sometimes he guessed the name correctly, sometimes he didn’t. But this question always truly embarrassed him.

Observations & Office Life

When your boss is a person with a disability, there will be different experiences.

As my supervisor had a visual disability, I had some personal observations. I always noticed that he loved to talk in the work environment — sometimes it was difficult, but not too bad.

He was always very jolly-minded. He had a wonderful ability to change the environment — sometimes he managed a sad situation with just a few words. I also found him to be emotional at times, but his emotions never lasted long.

One of my major observations is that he often talked to himself.

If I wanted to, I could tell you thousands of stories about him. Let me share one:

The Talking Lift Story

One day, we were heading back from the office. We were in a talking lift — meaning it had a level of accessibility. I was focused on my phone screen. The lift was going down from the 9th floor to the ground floor.

Suddenly, the door opened at level three. Distracted, I tried to get off.

But my supervisor said:

“Why are you getting down here? We’re going to the ground floor.”

I asked, “How did you know this is level 3?”

He replied,

“The talking lift announced it when the door opened.”

That day, I truly realized why accessibility is so important everywhere.

Navigating the Office

Our workstations were changed several times. Sometimes the new venue was accessible, sometimes it wasn’t. Still, he managed every situation.

As we belong to Asia, accessibility is considered less important compared to Europe and America. The main challenge here was navigating the washroom from the office desk — but within a few weeks, he memorized all the navigation paths.

The sad part? It is very tough to navigate an inaccessible workstation. I saw him injured several times. He never complained. When I asked, he said:

“It’s very normal for me.”

How Does a Person with a Disability Use a Computer?

Let’s go back to that first question:

“How does a person with a disability use a computer? How!”

My supervisor always says:

“Technology is my life. Without technology, I can’t imagine living.”

Once, at a program, he said:

“If God offered to give me back my eyesight, I would refuse — because I am blessed with technology.”

The Multimedia Talking Book

One day, his younger daughter came to him and said:

“Baba, please read this book to me.”

She didn’t know her father couldn’t see. He couldn’t read the book for her. This made him emotional.

Inspired by this moment, he invented the Multimedia Talking Book — a book that can be seen and heard. It is a full-text, full-audio book.

Technology connected the dots between father and daughter.

As a matter of fact, people with visual disabilities use computers and mobile devices with screen reading software.

• My boss uses NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) on his laptop (open-source).
• On mobile, he uses TalkBack, a screen reader for Android devices.

Final Thoughts

One thing I am very clear about from this journey:

Having a disability is irrelevant if you have experience and skills.

Over the past four years, not a single moment made me think of him as a person with a visual disability. It never even crossed my subconscious mind.

Today, I will stop here.

Finally, I can tell you this:

“He did not come into this world to take; he came to give.”