It is widely believed that programming is a special field of activity that is available only to people with certain abilities, an unusual mindset and special education. But this is only a myth.
In fact, there are plenty of programmers who don't possess any of the above. In addition, they had to overcome physical and other limitations in order to be successful in their desired profession. In this article, we'll talk about some of them.
Blind programmers
Eric Weichenmeier
This young man's example speaks for itself: nothing is impossible in the world. At the age of 13, Eric experienced a real tragedy — he became completely blind. Only sports and self-confidence helped him cope with his loss of vision and not break down. Eric is now a famous mountain climber, irrepressible explorer, book author, and motivational speaker. He also developed a special JAWS screen reader for the blind.
Maxim Spiridonov
A blind programmer from St. Petersburg also decided to prove that there are no borders. And he did it.
Maxim has developed special glasses with machine vision and a unique navigator for blind people that allow them to travel alone.
Programmers with autism
Steven Shore, a renowned professor, teacher, and writer who has been lecturing about autism around the world, says that more than 20% of Silicon Valley programmers are autistic. In his opinion, such people have a special quality that makes them successful programmers — pattern recognition. Autistic people are able to find software bugs very quickly.
By the way, the German consulting company Auticon only employs aspies: people with Asperger syndrome, which belongs to the autism spectrum disorder. “Our IT consultants may not be very good at small talk... but they're just crazy about programming languages,” the firm said in an advertisement.
Programmers with cerebral palsy
Ivan Bakaidov
A young programmer from St. Petersburg who writes programs that help those who cannot speak and have motor difficulties communicate.
Ivan believes that the most important thing is to believe in yourself and be who you want to be.
The success stories of these extraordinary programmers show that with the help of determination, support, and innovative technologies, people with different abilities can overcome limitations and become successful in programming. Their contribution not only pushes the boundaries of what is possible, but also makes the world more inclusive and accessible to all
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