Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[Jason:] On CHAT Camp, first at all tell us about the partnership between BBI and
CHAT and how this all came about and what it means to BBI.
[Michael:] Yeah well, Burton Blatt Institute I try to
think of as a kind of global think tank ,
to spark and stimulate innovation
and really that's what CHAT is. Peter got to meet Barb
and the family and they began
discussion that quickly
from it came extraordinary ideas.
One of those ideas was what do you do,
what could we do in a partnership and a
collaboration that brought together a number
of families and really allowed us to experiment and innovate
in terms of opportunity to learn together, have
fun together and to me ultimately it's about
raising expectations for everyone involved. The volunteers,
the students, the family members and really
bring about kind of new reality
where there are no limits there are only opportunities
there are no challenges. Challenges can be overcome
by creative thinking and creative doing.
And uh this is an opportunity for someone like me
who was on the early days of
starting Burton Blatt Institute to really
once again say , we can set
new examples and there, there is
no limit to what individuals
with communication challenges can do
and this, this is just
the wonderful start today and looking forward to see
across the week where we'll be at the end of the week
because this is just a beginning for
what really can set new horizons
for all of us about
you may not be able to speak with the way
traditionally we speak but technology has leveled the playing field
and dramatically altered what we know and what we can do.
[Jason:] It's happened quickly hasn't it?
[Michael:] It's been amazing. It's been amazing. I was just sharing with Barb
that I remember when I was working on Capitol Hill.
I was working for Senator Weicker from Connecticut
and we had a member of
our staff who was a student who was
at that time was not an R com user. He used a board,
where you spelled out letters. It was this green board you know
no bigger than what could fit on your laptop
and that's the way we communicated.
And he purposely for a number years kept
using that board,didn't move on where the technology was taking
us because he would say to me, he would say "I wanna be in control.
I want people to go as slowly as I do." But
as with all of us technology simplifies our world,
it accelerates our world, he eventually became augmentative communication user.
Today, Bob Williams is the
Assistant Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
and he is over billions of dollars
in expenditures and he is a
really a symbol of
there is no limits. There's nothing
that can can keep someone who is
a communication technology user
from being anything that they want to be.
I mean the world has changed that much. That uh experience in
the US Capitol for me and the Senators office with Bob Williams
was some thirty years ago.
Today Bob Williams as I said is a role model
for so many others and it
also just says that with the power of technology,
with creative spirit, with expectations that just keeps rising,
anything's possible. That's what CHAT is about.
[Jason:] You talked about new examples that let you go, new examples for society.
What should society know about interacting with people who use
assistive technology and communication devices?
[Michael:] Is you know I think it goes through stages I think you start with
kinda sheer awe and amazement and curiosity
I've never seen these kinds of technology
devices and methods in use and then that
moves away kinda move to the next stage
beyond the technology to the individual and you feel the power,
and you feel the excitement, and you feel the enthusiasm
and that's what we're doing here this week
and uh it will be I hope the beginning of
bigger and better things and a new sense
of appreciation. We all have talent,
we all have our own thoughts and and uh thinking
and and the communication technology allows us to
unmask the disability and focus on abilities
and really uh I think ahead as that first
story with Bob Williams for me was thirty years ago
is I think imagine where we will be even five years, ten years from now.
People with communication technology needs
will be able to do anything they want. There will be
no barriers to success and achievement
and CHAT will be able to look back at CHAT and
say wow look what we did here
for just five families but when we think about
what this message and these examples are
for the future there are no limits.
[Off Screen:] Pleasure, thank you
[Michael:] Thanks, thank you so much, thank you.