it took me almost 50 years to understand accessibility

© 2002-2013 Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

It took me almost 50 years to understand accessibility.Peter MahoneyChief Marketing Officer & GM, Dragon


My name is Peter. I have many roles. I am a CMO. I am the general manager of Dragon. I am a parent of 3 kids — one of them with severe disabilities. I am an advocate for assistive technology.

@DragonDictator


It took me almost 50 years, but I realized that I did not understand accessibility.

It shouldn’t take you that long to figure it out. Maybe my story will help you learn faster than me.


I was destined to be a geek.

When I was born in 1965, my first home was on MIT campus where my dad was getting his PhD in physics.


In the 1970s, I learned to program FORTRAN on an IBM 1130 on punch cards. I graduated to a TRS-80 and an Apple II. This stuff was hard, but I was proud to be geek enough to make it work.

I thought of technology as EXCLUSIVE.


In the 1980s, I was studying Physics and Computer Science at Boston College. Dr. Jim Gips was my advisor and he introduced me to kids with special needs at the BC Campus School. I wrote software to help them communicate.

He showed me that technology could be INCLUSIVE.


In the 1990s, I got married and had two kids. My second child was born with spina bifida, hydocephalus and very low muscle tone.

She would need a power wheelchair to move around the world.


Back then, my experience taught me

accessibility = wheelchair


In the 2000s, I had my third child and started working with Nuance and the Dragon products. I met some amazing customers who showed me a more complete view of accessibility.


I met a 12 year old girl who attended a school in Sydney that deployed Dragon in all their classrooms. She told me that she didn’t write well and the kids called her stupid. She thought she was stupid too. Then she started using Dragon and the ideas came out of her head and onto the page. She got good grades. She knew she was smart.


I realized that I didn’t know what accessibility meant anymore.


In the 2010s, saw my daughter flourish with assistive technology, joined the board of the Easter Seals and met even more assistive technology users – and even saw technology help my family use the TV at home.


I realized that accessibility was not just about wheelchairs – it was about

enabling all people to reach their potential.


I now realize that

accessibility = democracy


This is why, at Nuance, we are focused on reinventing the relationship between people and technology.


2009 2010 2011 2012

20%

18%

16%

14%

12%

10%

18%Average word error rate reduction per year

Aver

age

wor

d er

ror r

ateWe’ve

invested billions of dollars making voice recognition more accurate


And we make tools that allow a 12 year old to make a great app (OK, not just any 12 year old…)


And not only is it the right thing to do, but we have laws that say that we must make our world more accessible


What if everyone had access to technology that allowed them to reach their full potential?


Look how far we have come


people are slaves to technology

technology at service to people

Then Now


accessible when demanded

accessible by design

Then Now


exclusive inclusive

Then Now


we did it because we had to

we do it for the massive

economic impact

Then Now


It took me almost 50 years to realize that

accessibility = democracy


How long did it take you?

@DragonDictator

it took me almost 50 years to understand accessibility

Technology

nuance communications

technology technology

assistive technology

complete view of accessibility

dragon products

year old girl

general manager of dragon

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