Sometimes, a perceived disability turms out to be an asset on the job. Though he is onli 18 years
Old and bnlind, suleyman gokyigit (pronounced gok-yi-it) is among the top computer technicians and
Progammers at intelidata technologies corp., a large software company with several offices across the
United states. ‘’after a merger last october, two disparate computers networks were driving us crazy.”recalls
Dousglas braun, an intelidata vike bresident.”we couldn’t even send e- mail to each other” in three
Weeks, mr.gokyigit, a university of toledo sophomore who works 10 part-time at intelidata’s office in
The city, created the software needed tointegrate the two networks. ”none of the company’s 350 other
Employees could have done the job in three months,” says mr.braun.”suleymn can literally ‘see’into the heart of the computer.” Mr.gokyigit’s gift, as mr.braun calls it, s an unusual ability to conceptualize the innards of a
Machine.”the computer permits me to reach out into the worlk and do almost anything t want to do,”
Says mr.gokyigit, who is a computer scienee engineering major with straight AS. Like most blind people who work with computers. Mr.gokyigit uses a voice-synthesizer that reads
The video display on his monitor in a mechanical voice.devies that produce braille screen displays are
Also available, but Mr.gokyigit says they “waste time”.instead, he depends on memory. Turning the
Synthesizer to top speed, he remembers almost everything he hears, at least untill a project is completed.while the synthesizer talks, Mr.gokyigit mentally “maps” the computer screen with numbered coordinates(such as three across,two down) and memorizes the location of each icon on the
Grid so he can call up files with his mouse.
The young programmer is