In the forty years of living with a disability I have seen the evolution of assistive technology for people with disabilities. Assistive technology has gone from scissors on an electric toothbrush base to now AI and everything in between. I have written many times about my journey with assistive technology. I know I would not be the independent person I am without it. From voice activation on my phone and computer to the mobility made possible by my electric wheelchair. The biggest challenge I face using assistive technology is things don't always work the first time and you only get short opportunities to test equipment. For example when I am at the peak of my day I can spend up to 18 hours in my wheelchair but when I am testing a new wheelchair I might only get three separate half hour test drives. Which doesn't give me the real feel about what it would feel like to spend the whole day or go to any of my local areas where I might be expected to use the wheelchair. Anothe
This year marks my twentieth anniversary of public speaking and disability education. In that time the subject I get asked to speak on the most is the empowerment of people with disabilities. The two main principles I have come up with regarding empowerment are to treat each person as an individual and take a holistic view of a person's life because in my experience it is only by doing those two things that you can truly empower a person with a disability. In order to make these two principles a reality you have to take a person centred approach to support delivery. It starts from the CEO at the top and the great front line soldiers that are each individual support worker. It is important to recognise that no two people with a disability have the same life and needs. The support worker should help create an environment where the client and support worker work together and people are given the space and opportunity for choice and control in their own life. It is important to