Distance learning

Owen has grown his love for drawing during this period and one day he decided to draw Covid. When I asked him how he came up with the image, he said it’s the image from the signs that are posted around town.

Everything and everyone’s life have been altered in some way due to Covid. Our last “normal” day was on March 12, 2020. I remembered it so well because that was the day when I took my dad to the airport and that was the last day when my kids went to school as they know it for their last 2020-2021 school year. Just like everyone else our routines have changed so much and so many times.

We have been here and we still are at the same place since almost a year ago.

I had just quit my job right before the start of this and I am not sure if it’s good timing or bad timing. It was good because I was able to devote all my time to the kids with distance learning; it was not so good because I did not have the time to pursue what I wanted career wise and therefore we did not have much financial stability as before. I am lucky that I am able to take time off to concentrate on the kids. It is a huge blessing and I am very thankful. But even so, I still want and will achieve the goal of what I want to do when I made the decision to quit.

I want to work in the field of accessibility where I can use my extensive knowledge from having 2 children with disabilities and incorporate into the world of technology. I have not pinpoint a specific title to the exact position but this is what I would like to do – being part of the accessibility design process, being an inclusion advocate, informing others of what technology is available that can help with their disabilities, and to be a parent advocate especially for the hearing and vision impaired.

I know there are many people that have been doing the work to support the disability community and it is only in recent years that I noticed the changes are really happening. Bigger companies (i.e. Google, Apple) seem to make more effort to include accessibility design as part of their standard design and they are more outspoken with their support. It is so great to see these changes along the side of inclusion for all. There are so much more to do and we can always do better. I want to be part of it. I have been an advocate for my kids since they were born. I have learned so much from their doctors, their specialist, and most of all from themselves. It is a great joy to watch your children grow and at the same time it is scary to imagine the world where I cannot always be there to protect them.

I have learned so much during distance learning with what my hearing impaired and vision impaired children need. I have learned how their tools are crucial to their daily learning. I have learned how technology can help their way of life based on their own disability. I have learned and I know that their tools need to evolve with technology constantly. I have the advantage to know it because I have 2 kids that show and teach me what helps them and what is hard for them. They are so used to going out of their way to accommodate themselves and I need to teach them to ask for help because things does not need to be hard for them, or not so much.