His challenges are his gifts
By Virginia Scholtz
Northside News
Glen Gordon’s childhood was different from that many of us experienced. It wasn’t until he was 3 years old that his grandfather figured out that Glen couldn’t see. Once his parents realized Glen’s needs, they encouraged him to make the most of his abilities. He never expects sympathy for his blindness nor praise for his abilities.
In his early years, Glen’s father took him out into the everyday world. The hardware store was one of his favorite places. He also liked car engines. He knew better than to try driving so he would sit in the driver’s seat, turn the key and work the accelerator. Glen’s mother encouraged him to take on the world in a no-nonsense way. “Okay, you fell down. The next thing to do is get back up.”
He attended an elementary school dedicated to teaching blind children. Glen developed strong abilities in math, typing and braille, participated in activities at the “Y” and in Cub Scouts, and formed friendships. He attended UCLA, achieving a bachelor’s degree and an MBA.
At UCLA he became well-versed in the world of information technology and was introduced to Freedom Scientific (FS), a fledgling software company in Florida that would become his life’s career.
In 1986 Glen met Jan in LA, and they were married before the end of summer. In 1994 they moved to Ithaca, New York, where Glen continued working for FS and was valued for his ability to facilitate the release of new software.
When their daughter, living in Chicago, gave them a grandchild, the couple was eager to move closer to them. Glen worked from home so they had a wide choice of possible locations. As a fan of the Wisconsin Public Radio show “Whad’Ya Know?” Glen promoted a move to our town. They settled on the Northside to be near their church community.
For 30 years, Glen has worked to adapt and improve the applications used by people whose vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content or navigating with a mouse. He hosts a podcast that includes discussions with software users and interviews with people who have expertise in disability issues.
Looking forward, Glen expresses his hopes for Madison and humanity, “There is not enough civility. I hope people will learn to be more respectful of differences.”
Read about the software, JAWS® (Job Access With Speech) at freedomscientific.com. Listen to Glen’s podcast at blog.freedomscientific.com/fscast.