How a deaf, blind Harvard graduate is influencing Apple

Texting a friend when you’re in the same room isn’t that unusual. But interviewing someone over text when you’re staring them in the eyes doesn’t feel right. 

For Haben Girma, communicating with keyboards is simply a necessity. Girma, 29, is deaf and blind; she was born that way. But none of that prevented her from speaking at two packed panels during South by Southwest last week and taking a few minutes to chat with me. 

“Hi Haben, I’m Kerry, reporter for Mashable,” I typed on a keyboard that was placed in front of me outside of a conference room at the Hilton Austin Downtown to talk with Girma. I had slowed down my typing and prayed that the message went through without typos, or at least was clear enough.  Read more…

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