Brian is legally blind, having very limited vision. While working on a couple projects that required him to spend a lot of time on the computer, he noticed that his old computer wasn’t up to the task. And the long hours spent on the computer were causing him pain, in part because of the strain with his limited vision.

“It’s a sighted world, people don’t understand that,” he says. “It’s difficult when I go into places and they’ve got everything listed in such small numbers.”

A previous participant in various Neil Squire programs, Brian joined our Digital Jumpstart program.

Through Digital Jumpstart, he received a new laptop, Dragon Naturally Speaking to use his computer with voice commands, and Microsoft Office.

Working with Distance Training Coordinator Gordon Watt, Brian began taking lessons on how to use Dragon with Microsoft Word and browsing the internet. He had tried using Dragon in the past, but it didn’t work well on his old computer.

“He’s excellent, very amiable, he’s knowledgeable, and a patient guy too,” Brian says of his tutor, Gordon. “I was very frustrated when I first started out. My equipment was poor, and I was frustrated and confused because I didn’t know [what to do].

“I just thought it must be me, because I asked different people, and I brought a technical guy in, and like it just must be me that’s not doing something right for nothing to really work properly. So being able to talk to Gordon and talk over technical stuff and figure stuff out, and get stuff that works, it took away a lot of the confusion, like I know what’s going on now.”

Brian also practiced with the ZoomText magnifier, which he had received through a previous Neil Squire program, and found the ZoomText App Reader useful for reading him his emails and other correspondence.

Thanks to Digital Jumpstart, Brian feels much more confident on the computer.

“It’s so much less frustrating, so I would say I’m happier,” he says. “When everything seems daunting — when you just don’t know how to use this properly — you’re less apt to use it. So just giving you the skills to do something more confidently gives you the courage to really try stuff.

“It also helps with the amount of time you can spend on the computer doing something without saying I have to take a break.”

Brian, who does a lot of volunteering, is now in the position to help others with their computer problems.

“It’s nice being able to offer other people assistance, because I’m in touch with people with all kinds of different technical difficulties in their life,” he shares.

With his newfound computer skills, Brian is planning on starting a podcast and a newsletter.