Jim Gemmell:a Journey into the Future

HELLO FRIENDS! I AM SO HAPPY TO BE HERE! MY NAME IS JIM GEMMELL AND I AM 32 YEARS OLD.

I FIRST STARTED USING A COMMUNICATION DEVICE WHEN I WAS IN THE 1st GRADE AT WIDENER MEMORIAL SCHOOL.

I HAD THE SAME SPEECH THERAPIST THE WHOLE 15 YEARS I WAS AT THAT SCHOOL. I STARTED WITH THE TOUCH TALKER, THEN THE LIBERATOR, AND NOW MY PATHFINDER.  

BEFORE I STARTED USING MY FIRST DEVICE,I HAD A BIG WOODEN TRAY THAT MY DAD MADE THAT HAD NUMBERS AND PICTURES ON IT.  I USED MY LEFT HAND TO POINT TO WHAT I WANTED.

I ALSO USED MY EYES TO MAKE CHOICES OR I WOULD CHOOSE A HAND.  WHAT I MEAN IS MY MOM'S RIGHT HAND MIGHT BE CHEERIOS AND HER LEFT MIGHT BE CORN POPS.  YUMMY! I WOULD THEN LOOK AT THE HAND I WANTED.  I STILL USE THIS METHOD WHEN I AM NOT AT MY PATHFINDER.

ONE PROBLEM THAT I DO HAVE COMMUNICATING WITH MY PATHFINDER IS THAT I GET TIRED.  SO SOMETIMES I DON'T ALWAYS SAY WHAT I WOULD LIKE.

I HAVE BEEN ASKED IF I HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING PEOPLE TO TAKE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO ME.  I DON'T THINK  THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR ME. PEOPLE SEEM TO BE FASCINATED BY MY VOICE.  

HAVING MY VOICE HAS ALLOWED ME TO BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.  IT HAS ENABLED ME TO GO TO SCHOOL, WORK, AND PARTICIPATE IN MY COMMUNITY.  IT HAS ALSO HELPED ME TO WIN OVER GIRLS.

 I GRADUATED FROM WIDENER SCHOOL IN JUNE 2000.

I HAD A GIRLFRIEND FOR A LONG TIME, BUT WE ARE NOT SEEING EACH OTHER ANY MORE. YOU KNOW HOW IT IS SOMETIMES!

AFTER THAT I WENT TO THE  MOSS CLUBHOUSE TWICE A WEEK.  I ALSO STARTED WORKING WITH NETWORKS FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT TO FIND A JOB.

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IT TOOK AWHILE BUT THEY MANAGED TO GET ME AN INTERVIEW AT THE

FLYERS SKATE ZONE.

THE TIME AND EFFORT I PUT INTO PREPARING FOR THAT INTERVIEW PAID OFF BECAUSE I WAS HIRED ON THE SPOT.  SO I LEARNED THAT HOCKEY PEOPLE ARE SPECIAL.  AND THEY LEARNED THAT I'M SPECIAL.  WE MAKE A GOOD MATCH.

I STARTED AT THE FLYERS SATE ZONE IN NOVEMBER OF 2003. I HOPE TO BE THERE FOR MANY YEARS WITH THE HELP OF GOOD PEOPLE LIKE YOU.

I HAVE DONE DATA ENTRY AT THE FLYERS SKATE ZONE. I STARTED BY STORING CUSTOMER MAILING INFORMATION ON THEIR DATABASE. THIS HELPED THE SKATE ZONE TO SEND OUT NEWSLETTERS LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHAT PROGRAMS THEY HAVE AVAILABLE.I HAVE ALSO POSTED THE SCORES OF THE ADULT HOCKEY LEAGUES ON THE SKATE ZONE'S WEB PAGE.

 I HAVE USED VARIOUS FORMS OF ASSISTIVE

TECHNOLOGY AT WORK. I USE MY PATHFINDER AS A KEYBOARD.  

MY COMPUTER AT WORK HAS BEEN LOADED WITH A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS THE TWO SYSTEMS TO WORK TOGETHER.

SOME CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE ON MY JOB.  YEA!! CHANGE!! DATA ENTRY

CAN BE A LITTLE DULL!!

THERE IS AN INFRARED RECEIVER ON MY COMPUTER AT WORK, SO THERE IS

NO CABLE THAT NEEDS TO BE ATTACHED. I ALSO HAVE USED A PAGE

TURNER AT WORK. IT HOLDS THE PAGES WITH THE HOCKEY SCORES

THAT NEED TO BE ENTERED ONTO THE WEB PAGE. YOU HIT A SWITCH TO HAVE THE PAGE TURNER WORK.

I NOW WORK IN THE FRONT RECEPTION AREA!! I HAVE EXPANDED INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE, GREETING ALL WHO ENTER.  THIS IS GREAT FOR ME, BECAUSE I LOVE PEOPLE!

DURING THE SUMMER,  I ASSISTED IN THE SUMMER CAMP KIDS PROGRAM HELD AT THE SKATE ZONE.  I HELPED KEEP THE KIDS IN LINE.  I HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH MY NEPHEW IN THIS AREA.  

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO MY FUTURE. I HOPE TO MOVE  OUT OF MY HOME , AND GET A PLACE OF MY OWN.  MAYBE EVEN SOMEDAY GET TO SAY  ”I  DO” WITH MY PATHFINDER!

SO THAT'S MY STORY IN A NUTSHELL!I WILL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE….. AT THE END OF OUR PRESENTATION!

Jim Gemmell gemmells@verizon.net