Personal Testimony of Voice Impact on Her Own Health and Well-being After Spinal Cord Injury

Featuring:

Brook McCall, Tech Access Initiative Director for the United Spinal Association

18 years ago, as an Anthropology student of UCSB in Santa Barbara, Brook suffered from an injury in which she broke her neck and was unable to use her arms and legs. This did not stop Brook as she began to become interested with voice technology.

Brook had to relearn how to do everything as she wanted to reclaim her independence and autonomy. While it was a process, voice technology gave her a new sense of control. Not only did she recalibrate her way of life but she gained her confidence back with time and connectivity to technology.

She reflects back on the first cell phone she used to make a phone call via voice and how much phones have changed now. Her first smart speaker allowed her to be able to control her home instead of calling another person for help.

Brook calls the voice community to continue to provide solutions for those with disabilities as she has greatly benefited from the voice revolution within the past two decades and is excited for what is to come. She reiterates the need to have open conversation with those with diverse disabilities to cater to and pull on the creative solutions that we can work on together.