Professional computer work for the blind

Developments in computer technology have opened new professional opportunities for the intelligent blind. Since there are few if any occupations in which the blind can participate without serious disadvantage, the opportunities offered them to gain entrance into various occupations through computer use including that of programmer, is important for future rehabilitation planning. Also of immediate interest is the fact that the blind may be especially suited for programming work. Because of intense training in and constant experience with locating objects in the unseen environment and also because of superbly trained memory, the blind brings to the work of programming, skills which the sighted has had little need to acquire. These qualifications should result in fewer debugging problems and make the blind a valuable addition to any systems group. Before the blind could become a serious professional, a number of aids and techniques had to be developed that can mediate between machines and programmer. This paper describes the techniques and aids which were designed by the staff of the Medical Computing Center of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.