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This article is copyright protected and is being used with permission of the TPN Magazine and TPN, Inc No part of this article may be reproduced or retransmitted in any manner and/or for any reason without the express permission of TPN, Inc. You may contact them at: TPN@tbi.org for further information.) |
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The Computer As A Link To the Outside World In the last issue of TPN (Spring 96), I discussed the computer as a compensation tool. In this segment of the computer story, we will examine how the computer can link us to services, friends, families and information around the globe. The computer is an amazing tool that can assist us in our recovery or our day to day life with a disability. The Internet is the new technology that is here today. The Internet is a wide spread source of connecting to different sites of the world as well as to a wide range of people. Many of us that have disabilities, namely in our case TBI, have found difficulty finding resources to aid in our recovery. Unfortunately for us, TBI is still in the infant stages in the medical world. The medical world is just beginning to learn how the brain functions and what happens in an injury. The knowledge that has been gained thus far in TBI is limited to certain areas. Not everyone or every area has this knowledge or accepts this knowledge. Rehab in the area of TBI is also limited due to the same reason. What do we do? How do we ourselves get the services and information to help us become as vital as we want and can be? One answer is through the Internet. The Internet has a wealth of information and can link us to specialist in the medical world. The Internet widens our resources beyond our comprehension. The Internet can also link us to many who are living with the same complications. We can correspond with someone from England or Australia just as easy as we can correspond with someone next door. One major benefit that the Internet and on-line services provide is the ability to ask for and receive information instantly. E-mail is similar to regular snail mail (mailing by the post office) with one major difference. We can send a letter and receive a letter the exact same day or even in seconds from logging on to our service. There is something for everyone on the Internet. We can find entertainment, movie reviews, games, the latest information on medicine as well as information on events around the globe. Professional people use the Internet to do their research and to share their vast knowledge. Students use the Internet to gather information for their chosen professions. We can use the Internet to access the knowledge and expertise of these certified professionals. We can also add to the knowledge of these professionals as well as laymen. More importantly, we can aid others who share in the same trials and tribulations of having a brain injury. The Internet uses web pages on the world wide web or www. These web pages can be found for businesses, professionals, entertainment, education, religious organizations, support groups, as well as individuals, just to name a few. You can even have your own personal web page on the net. Examples of web pages are: 1. The TPN WWW Site - URL: http://www.tbi.org 2. State Organization WWW Sites, such as the Brain Injury Assc. of CT - URL: http://www.connix.com/~dpyers/cttbia.html 3. NSCA Mosaid Access Page - learning how people with disabilities can use the Internet and the WWW - URL: http://bucky.aa.uic.edu/ 4. Government WWW pages, such as the White House - URL: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ Another benefit of the Internet is the ability to participate in mailing lists. Mailing lists are groups of people who want to share their information and request information on a specific topic, for example: TBI, epilepsy, prayer lists etc. In many ways being a part of a mailing list is being a part of an extremely large family. We can communicate with many different people around the world. We can receive support and encouragement as well as give it. I am a member of two lists: the TBI-SURV list and one for persons with seizure disorder. One complication for us as well as many others is the difficulty in finding this information. There is so much on the net. There are a wide variety of books on how to access the different sites on the net One such book is called, Internet Yellow Pages. The yellow pages are structured just like our regular yellow pages for phone information. The sites are alphabetized by subject topics, for example: Accounting, Handicap, Hawaii and Zoology. Classes are offered on learning how to access the Internet. You can find videos on how to use the Internet. We can find TV shows on accessing the Internet. Another way to find information is through the Internet provider. Internet providers have their own capabilities of searching the Internet. Of course, the most reliable way is to ask friends and family who also use the net. Another major complication that we share with TBI's is the one of information overload. The Internet along with the mailing lists can be so frustrating for us due to the amount of information we receive. One way to overcome this complication is to first recognize that this does occur and prepare for it. Instead of trying to absorb all the information at once take it as slowly as you need to. One suggestion is to copy the information to examine later. Another way is to limit your time on the Internet. Start out slowly and increase it as you see fit. You can also ask others for their input on how they have solved the complication. If at all else fails, it is OK to stop and take a break and return to it at a later time when you feel more able to handle it. What do we need to begin? The basic tools is the computer, a modem, a phone line and an Internet provider. There are many different Internet providers. The most common ones are offered through on-line services such as American On-Line (AOL), Compuserve, Prodigy, Netcom, as well as many others. The biggest difference is in the cost. The on-line services not only provide access to the Internet but they also have their own services they provide which includes chat areas, special conferences and special forums. They also have their own message boards and libraries of information. Many of the on-line services provide a trial period of so many hours to try their service before they start actually charging you. Again the most reliable source of information on these services can be provided by friends and family that are already using them. Just be cautious when you use these services. The time you spend on line can increase before you know it. To be able to use the Internet and on-line services we must possess patience and the willingness to learn. If you need work on patience, which most of us do, the Internet provides us with a safe environment to learn. We do not have to give out our name and addresses on the net. We can create our own nickname. If we do not like what someone says or the treatment we receive we can just turn it off without worry. We also do have ways of reporting misconduct on the net as well as to the on-line services. All in all we are blessed to have this never ending source of information as well as encouragement and support from around the world. |
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