Ask HN: Hackers With Disabilities

9 points·3dFlatLander··3 comments

I've seen many questions asked about the age and sex of community members, but have yet to see one that tackles this.

I'm curious, do we have any hackers, coders, IT workers, or especially entrepreneurs that have a disability? And more importantly, do you have any tools you use that you couldn't live without?

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This is a very dear topic to me. I have dealt with chronic pain for the last 5 years. While not a disability in the "Americans with Disabilities Act" sense, it is something that has impeded me. I've tried using reliefinsite.com, which I found so clunky that I am now trying to get a web-service off the ground that would compete with it.

My partner, who's not a member here but is very much a 'hacker' of all things electronic, car and computer, has a page about his disabilities here: http://sirbendy.jemjabella.co.uk/patient-information/my-disa...

He uses a Microsoft natural keyboard at home, but apart from that doesn't have any specific requirements for his IT equipment. In terms of every day tools, the only thing I can think of is that his car is an automatic (no clutch, so he doesn't have to worry about the extra pedal).

He's quite lucky given the range of things that CAN affect CP sufferers, and is fantastically independent.

I have ADD. While I've tried a lot of tools, I wouldn't pick out anything specifically as being crucial. None are very helpful if used alone.

Medication can be helpful, and organizational lists are definitely useful. Also things like sleep, diet, and exercise can play a big role.

I don't exactly know how ADD will be affecting my life years from now. But I believe since I'm currently working on managing it, it'll get better.

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