Getting More From the World Wide Web
By Contibuting to It

by Phil Ivory

What's the World Wide Web done to improve your life? Or, better yet, what have you done to improve the World Wide Web?

The Internet has become increasingly important in the lives of people with disabilities. According to a recent Harris Interactive Poll of 535 adults with disabilities and 614 adults without disabilities, all Internet users, adults with disabilities are much more likely than those without disabilities to report that the Internet has significantly improved the quality of their lives.

"The Internet has had a larger impact on people with disabilities than people without disabilities, in a sense of community," says Chris Rosa, Ph.D., director of the Office of Special Services for Students with Disabilities at Queens College of the City University of New York.

Rosa, who serves on MDA's Board of Directors and National Task Force on Public Awareness, has noted the growth of Web sites devoted to discussion forums for people with disabilities as well as sites that serve as repositories for scholarly writing on disability culture

He used such online resources when researching his dissertation titled "Disability Rites: The Construction of Disability Culture."

The upside of turning to online resources is that there's such a wealth of material, some of it not available elsewhere. However, depending on the source, research and facts presented on the Internet haven't necessarily been peer-reviewed for accuracy. What's more, the content and manner of expression on discussion boards are wildly variable. Comments may range from helpful and eloquent to hurtful, obscene and inflammatory.

Perhaps the greatest benefit the Web affords isn't just the chance to retrieve information but the opportunity to add something to a larger culture, to be part of it in a creative way, and in doing so to have a meaningful impact on others.

This article looks at several individuals with disabilities who have enriched their lives -- and the lives of others -- by becoming a contributing part of the amazing tapestry of the World Wide Web.

Dan Dorszynski: Internet Sports Entrepreneur

"I've always loved sports," says Dan Dorszynski, 25, who lives in Honolulu. He received a diagnosis of Becker muscular dystrophy when he was in his early teens.

"I was able to play tennis in high school until my sophomore year and then it just got too hard, running around and stuff. I had always written these little computer sports simulations on my Apple II Plus that my dad had, but I never really thought I could make money doing stuff like that because it was just fun for me."

After earning his undergraduate degree in civil engineering at Stanford University, he found that "a lot of my [engineering] friends were working in the sewers and out in nature and stuff like that," he says. He's ambulatory but he wasn't sure his muscular dystrophy would allow him to do the same. "I guess maybe subconsciously my decision to go into computers had to do with that."

He worked for a while for a Honolulu computer consulting company doing software development for business Internet applications. Then he and a friend from Stanford, Stewart Chong, decided to strike out on their own as partners. They would create a sports simulation site where people could manage hypothetical teams and play them against each other.

Dorszynski and Chong maintain the site together. It can be found at playasport.com.

"We kind of feed off each other. I do a lot of the programming. He does a lot of the interface design and stuff," Dorszynski says. "He doesn't have a disability. He was on the volleyball team in college. And so we're kind of on both ends of the spectrum when it comes to physical ability."

So how does Playasport work?

"You sign up to be a manager, and there are five sports -- basketball, baseball, football, soccer and hockey -- and you can play any or all of them. You have a fictional team, it's not based on anything in real life. You can choose how much of each skill your team should have -- for example, baseball has hitting, pitching, fielding -- and allocate them as you see fit," Dorszynski explains. "And then you get a game scheduled for your team every night. Depending on who you play, you'll adjust your tactics based on their skills."

The games are simulated and users don't even have to be logged on. The outcome is determined by statistics and math.

"You come back the next day and you have either a win or a loss. You have a ranking," Dorszynski says. "We go through a whole season, which takes about two months. You play pre-season games and league games and then there's a tournament. The tournament winner receives a gift certificate for $25."

The site has about 2,000 regular users, with 150,000 page views a month. Usage grows about 20 percent every month.

Dorszynski and Chong don't allow themselves to play competitively on the site.

"I know the whole formula in my head," Dorszynski says. "I mostly just play to make sure everything's working. I do play a lot of similar games on other sites where I can allow myself to win."

Participants on the site play for free. Revenue is generated by advertising appearing on the site.

Dorszynski and Chong now break even on revenue covering costs, and are seeking regular sponsors for the site. Site usage will have to grow considerably in order for Dorszynski to earn what he was making on his previous job, but he says he's on the way there.

"We get tons of great feedback," he says. "I can tell the people who are just like me who have always been looking for something like this. They'll write me and say, 'I'm so glad I found this little world you created. It's so much fun I check it every day.'"

Dorszynski says Playasport isn't exactly a disability site.

"I think of it as an enabling site for people who like competition and sports, and who want to stay connected with it somehow," he says. "That's how I've stayed connected, by being able to come up with these things that let me play against other teams and do things that I couldn't do in the real-life world.

"And so in that respect I think someone who does have a disability could appreciate it the way I do."

Dorszynski and Chong have launched another site, a virtual version of the childhood game of hot potato at Webhotpotato.com which has already generated considerable interest.

Dorszynski strongly believes that personal computers and the Internet can provide a doorway to connection and employment forpeople with physical disabilities, even in cases when the disability is much more severe than his own.

"I've seen examples of professors at University of Hawaii who have ALS, and they're relying on their computers to do everything, speech recognition, all that kind of stuff, to do their work," he says.

"If I had enough money to give every person with a disability a computer and training to get them on it and become productive members of the work force, I would so do it. If I even become one-tenth of what Bill Gates is, that's what I would do."

Elisabeth Howell: Teen-age Web Designer

"The story of how I got involved in Web design is pretty interesting," says Elisabeth Howell, 18, of Eugene, Ore.

Howell has spinal muscular atrophy. She uses a motorized wheelchair and has also made extensive use of voice recognition software to enable her to do various projects via computer.

Voice recognition technology allows a user to enter text and perform numerous commands simply by speaking. Howell's disability makes it too difficult for her to press keys, but she can operate a mouse. Between the mouse and the voice recognition software she's able to do many creative things.

"My school district decided that since I needed a new computer to run the voice program, they would also provide Internet access and a teacher to help me learn how to use the Internet," she says.

"After a few weeks, my teacher decided that I was doing well enough to make my own Web page. That page didn't turn out very impressive, but it got me excited about Web page building. After experimenting for a while I got the hang of it and I made a page for a school reunion and a forestry company."

Howell works on a Macintosh and uses a program called Claris Home Page for her Web design work.

"When my teacher saw how quickly I was learning, she decided to enter me in the Master WEBster Competition," Howell says.

The 1999 Master WEBster Competition was sponsored by the Oregon Public Education Network and provided financial awards to schools for innovative and effective student-developed uses of the Internet in the furtherance of learning.

"Since it had to be educational, I thought it would be neat to make a Web page called Free Wheelie," Howell says. "I wanted to show people that wheelchairs are more a vehicle we drive than something to feel sorry for. I also wanted wheelchair users to know about the different possibilities there are."

You'll find a link to the award-winning Free Wheelie site created by Howell and another student at www.4j.lane.edu/projects/wheelie/

The site is divided into five sections. One section has information about accessories that make wheelchairs snazzier to look at and more rugged and mobile. Another is about wheelchair sports like racing, water skiing, basketball and hockey.

In another section you get to see what a day in the life of someone in a wheelchair -- actually, Howell -- is like. The interview section features conversations with wheelchair users.

"The part people like the best is the section where you get to race around in your own power or manual wheelchair to see if you can make it through the obstacle course without crashing," says Howell.

Non-wheelchair users who try the obstacle course come away understanding why navigating through short grass is better than navigating through tall grass, why sprinklers are OK for manual chairs but not power chairs, and other interesting facts.

Free Wheelie was the statewide winner among all the high school level entries in the competition. "Our school district's Home Instruction Department received $3,000 and a printer as a first-place award," Howell says.

Howell also became interested in the multimedia capabilities of computers, learning programs such as Macromedia Director and editing video with the help of her brother, Enoch.

"Ever since we were little, I liked to direct plays and Enoch liked to film them," she says. "Enoch and I started doing video presentations for people. Enoch is great at filming and blue screen and I am good at 3-D animation. We both edit. Together we make the perfect team because we share what we know and encourage each other.

"Internet technology has given me the tools to share ideas with others and help people," says Howell. "Right now, I am really excited because I am making an online camp for people who can't get out to a camp. It'll have stories, games and activities. Campers will be put in a cabin with their own counselor who will keep in touch through e-mail. I am hoping to have a camp session this winter, and if it turns out well, it will be something neat I can do each year."

She encourages other young people who are interested in Web design and computers not to be afraid to experiment and try different things.

"I definitely urge people to try out all the things a computer can do for them. No matter what your ability, you are special and you have a talent. With a little technology, there is no limit to what you can do!"

Jim Hasse: Disability Site Facilitator

Jim Hasse, 57, lives in Baraboo, Wis., 45 miles north of Madison. He has cerebral palsy.

Hasse worked for 27 years in the business world, but decided some years back to switch his emphasis to enterprises that were of help to people with disabilities.

He has a full-time career as a senior content developer for a Web site, www.esight.org, a career management site for people with visual impairments. But he wanted to do more.

"I wrote a book about my experiences with cerebral palsy," says Hasse. The self-published work, Break Out: Finding Freedom When You Don't Quite Fit the Mold, was designed to serve as a resource to help college seniors with disabilities prepare for the job market.

"But then I decided to put my book on the Web and use it as seed content for discussions, and that's how I started this Web site."

The Web site in question, which was launched in 1997, is www.tell-us-your-story.com. It's an active depository of personal stories from all kinds of people with all kinds of disabilities about all kinds of experiences.

"I discovered that people with disabilities wanted to share their stories just like I did," he says. "And so it grew from there. And now I think I'm at the point where I'm helping people showcase their stories, and helping people get published themselves."

One of the principles of the site is that writers retain the copyright of their material, so they can profit from it later if they find a publisher.

He says he receives about one story a day, with stories totaling about 800 since the site's founding in 1997.

"Over the last few years I've discovered that there are certain milestones, common things that people go through when growing up with a disability," says Hasse. "It think it comes out through these stories."

Hasse hopes that by identifying common challenges and highlighting them through the stories on the site, he can help people with disabilities feel less alone and better prepared. Some recurring themes are: alcohol and drug abuse as ways of escape, with an emphasis on the need to overcome this destructive behavior; dramatic changes in friends, marriage and jobs that occur with the sudden onset of a disability; and replacement of old relationships and activities with new ones as part of the adjustment process.

"My hope is that we begin to see a common thread that people can relate to, so they can see that they're not all by themselves, that there's a journey," says Hasse.

He receives a lot of positive feedback from his contributors. "They see it as therapy, sharing with a peer group," he says.

Hasse maintains 60 discussion boards on the site, each themed to a contributor's story.

Generally, he refrains from editorializing and lets the stories speak for themselves, although he reserves the right to edit for considerations of style or space.

At the end of the year, he picks out what he considers to be the 10 best stories. "I try to summarize what I think they're saying as a group," he says.

Hasse says Quest readers can use the site's search feature to look for material on a particular neuromuscular disorder.