Program Helps Disabled Students Become Not Just Dreamers But Doers

Like any 19-year-old, Todd Stabelfeldt dreams big. Someday he wants to own a 1972 Dodge Charger and host a morning radio show, fixing people’s problems with deft advice between songs.

But Stabelfeldt faces far more serious obstacles than other teen dreamers. He is paralyzed from the shoulders down, the victim of an accidental gunshot wound 11 years ago.

As he got used to life in a motorized wheelchair he operates by nudging a joystick with his chin, Stabelfeldt flirted with the idea of studying to become a psychiatrist. But he wasn’t sure how he could achieve his goal, since options are limited for quadriplegics.

Then he discovered DO-IT, an award-winning University of Washington program that links high-school students interested in math and science with the computer technology that helps them overcome their disabilities.

Stabelfeldt credits DO-IT--Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology--with changing his life. His computer-aided independence helped him obtain a degree in computer programming, move out of his parents’ house and land a job with a Bainbridge Island company that writes medical software.

“People just do not understand. They have no comprehension of disability,” he said in a recent interview in his office. “For disabled people, DO-IT is a wonderful, wonderful asset. It gives you resources. It gives you friends.”

By this fall, 136 students from 30 states and Canada will have participated in DO-IT’s summer scholars programs at the University of Washington. More than half have gone on to college or technical schools, and at least 40 have found work, according to a program survey.

In addition, more than 1,000 students have learned Internet and college preparation skills during DO-IT presentations at disability camps for youths in Washington, Minnesota and Colorado.

However, the program’s primary funding source--a $1-million grant from the National Science Foundation--expires this year and cannot be renewed. The legislature kicked in $500,000 this summer, but that money was earmarked only for disabled students in Washington state.

Sheryl Burgstahler, the program’s director at the university, said she’s talking to Microsoft and other computer-related companies in hopes of landing a national sponsor that will help DO-IT expand, perhaps internationally.

“It would make sense for a company like that to adopt us. Technology really does provide opportunities for people that aren’t there without it,” she said.

Stabelfeldt is just one of a number of the program’s success stories.

A blind student received a bachelor of science degree and got a job at Weyerhaeuser Co. Another blind student received a NASA space grant scholarship and is finishing her studies at UW. A student with a debilitating skin disease also is studying at UW and figures to find work in the computer field.

Founded in 1992, DO-IT recruits high school students with disabilities into science, engineering and mathematics programs and careers, with an emphasis on recruiting to UW.

Students come with a variety of disabilities, including blindness, hearing impairment, mobility impairments, learning disorders and brain injuries.

Participants in the scholars program are lent computers equipped with “adaptive technology”--special hardware and software that make cyberspace accessible to the disabled. The computers can be operated using the head, finger, knee or mouth, and can provide information through Morse code or Braille.

Participants spend two weeks at the university attending labs and lectures to get a feel for college life. They also meet with faculty and students, many with disabilities themselves, to learn how technology is making it easier for them to pursue degrees.

The program received a 1997 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

Stabelfeldt learned about the program while he was in rehabilitation at Children’s Hospital in Tacoma after the shooting that paralyzed him.

He applied for one of 20 positions in the DO-IT scholars program and was accepted. Over the next few years, DO-IT lent him about $10,000 worth of computer equipment. He says the program staff also helped him come to grips with his disability and build his self-esteem.

Since he doesn’t have the use of his hands, Stabelfeldt maneuvers a long, hollow tube called a mouthwand across an electronic pad. He types by pointing the wand at letters on the computer screen, and blows into the wand to make it click like a computer mouse--one breath for a single click, two breaths for a double click.

The hardest part, he said, wasn’t learning how to use the new technology. It was changing his attitude about being disabled.

“I didn’t want to be paralyzed. There was one other disabled guy in town. He was a quad. But I didn’t want to be associated with that,” said Stabelfeldt, who grew up in a small town north of Olympia.

“When I attended DO-IT, that all changed. I met 40 other gimps--that’s what I call them. I realized, hey, man, they’re cool. They’re real people too.

“They were fun. When you get together, you become sort of a team.”

Stabelfeldt recently filmed a commercial for Microsoft, which wants to promote “universal” software that helps make cyberspace more accessible to the disabled. He joked about moonlighting as an actor. “I could be on ‘Friends,’ ” he said with a chuckle. “They need more disabled people.”

Still, he hasn’t given up on his ultimate dreams. He keeps a picture of a 1972 Dodge Charger on his computer’s screen saver. And he still wants that morning radio show.

“I want to be a success, a big success. You know, so people say, ‘You met Todd Stabelfeldt?’ ” he said. “And I will be there someday.”

For more information about DO-IT, call (206) 685-3648 or visit the program’s home page at https://weber.u.washington.edu/~doit/

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DO-IT at a Glance

Some aspects of the University of Washington’s Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology program (DO-IT):

DO-IT Scholars: High school students with disabilities are lent computer equipment with specialized hardware and software, and are given Internet access in their homes so they can access information and communicate year-round with one another, project staff and mentors. The program involves two summer study sessions, with an optional third-year internship.

DO-IT Pals: Disabled students learn to use the Internet to explore academic and career interests and to interact with peers and mentors.

DO-IT Campers: Project staff teach Internet and college preparation skills at camps for disabled youth. More than 1,000 students have participated in camp programs in Washington, Minnesota and Colorado.

Associated Press