Jocelyn's story
Jocelyn Bartlem, who was an occupational therapist before sustaining a spinal cord injury in 2009, is an advocate for technology and universal design.Jocelyn Bartlem was enjoying a holiday on Hamilton Island in north Queensland with her partner when she sustained a spinal cord injury from a golf buggy accident.
After spending several months in the Spinal Injuries Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Jocelyn, 29, who is originally from Perth, was still finding it difficult adjusting to how quadriplegia had changed her life.
She had stopped communicating regularly with many of her friends, with physical disability bringing new challenges for her.
‘It is very frustrating, and it makes you not want to engage in activity, when it is difficult,' she says.
‘I didn't write any emails. I didn't read a book. I hardly used the internet.'
Jocelyn talks about:
Feeling ‘connected' again
The week before Jocelyn was due to leave the Spinal Injuries Unit in Brisbane, the first edition of Apple's popular tablet PC, the iPad, was released.
Jocelyn, who was an occupational therapist before her accident, started to use the tablet PC with a stylus.
‘I felt connected,' she says.
‘Because my accident was here and most of my friends were in Western Australia, I didn't feel so far away from them. I could demystify what had happened to me. It was a chance to say, "Yep, I'm still the same person."'
Jocelyn Bartlem using her iPad with a ‘figure of eight' splint allowing her to have an improved range of movement as she navigates the touch screen.Jocelyn is still undergoing rehabilitation in Queensland. She has trained her fingers, and she now uses her index finger and the corner of her fist to use the touch screen on her tablet PC.
Jocelyn has had her tablet PC and smartphone integrated as part of an environmental control unit in her home, meaning she can control different systems and devices, including her lights and air-conditioning, remotely.
‘I have more independence,' she says.
‘You can't really put a price on that.'
What she likes about technology
Jocelyn says the usefulness of her tablet PC has contributed to her developing a broader interest in how assistive technologies can support people with spinal injuries.
‘For me, it was a doorway to get really passionate about technology and the influence of technology on the quality of life for people with spinal injuries,' she says.
She says universal design is having a positive impact on how technology is changing the lives of people with disability.
‘The beauty of technology is it is becoming less disability specific,' says Jocelyn.
‘The iPad is a universally designed piece of equipment. That means that it can make disability more mainstream.'
More information
Jocelyn shares her aids, equipment and technology tips in the resources list included in the Disability Online Aids, equipment and assistive technology guide.
The guide includes information about other topics, including:
- where you can go for help about assistive technology options that may be right for you or a person you support with a disability
- funding assistance to help you with subsidising the cost of purchasing assistive technology-including aids and equipment
- tablet PCs in education settings: how contemporary technology devices like iPads are being used to support young children with a disability with their education needs.
- Audio description and captioning services available in Queensland for people with a disability.
