Rhonel Cinous
Rhonel’s story demonstrates how technology and accessibility can drive success. Eight years ago, he experienced a spinal cord injury from a diving accident, which led to quadriplegia, and a new chapter in life.
Today, Rhonel utilizes various assistive technologies. With tools like Siri and Voice Control, he operates his phone using only his voice. On his computer, he uses Dragon dictation and the Head Mouse Nano, a device allowing head movements to control the mouse cursor, a combination which enables hands-free computer use. However, even with access to these assistive technologies, not all experiences are seamless.
Online challenges
Navigating the digital world with different assistive technologies and alternative navigation tools, Rhonel encounters numerous barriers. These include issues like disappearing menus, the need to hold down the mouse button for security features, or layout changes in Voice Command due to updates.
The importance of accessibility to Rhonel is best captured as he recalls that “just eight years ago, I was completely ignorant to accessibility, but after acquiring my injury, I learned that not only does accessibility help assistive technology users, but it improves technology for everybody.”
Adventures and advocacy
Rhonel has continued to cultivate his professional background in radio through his podcast, ‘The Ramp It Up Podcast.’ He shares about his life as a quadriplegic, interviewing others in wheelchairs to explore their unique stories and experiences.
As a dedicated advocate, Rhonel is active with the United Spinal Association. His involvement has led to features in an Apple Voice Control video, a day as a virtual astronaut with NASA’s Artemis I mission, and more.
Rhonel maintains a variety of hobbies. He continues to enjoy water activities, including swimming and adaptive water skiing. He loves spending time with his family, especially connecting with his nephews through accessible video games. Constantly exploring new possibilities, Rhonel continues to redefine what it means to live as a quadriplegic.
Working with Fable
His journey with Fable began after reading an article in United Spinal Magazine. Intrigued by the opportunity to work with Fable, Rhonel reached out to learn more. Rhonel was excited that Fable offered him flexible, remote work, enabling him to leverage his passion for technology and share his lived experience.
What Rhonel enjoys most about working with Fable is participating in user interviews. He appreciates the opportunity to demonstrate how his assistive technology interacts with websites, apps, or software. This process often brings a moment of realization about accessibility for many, and he takes pride in facilitating this understanding to Fable’s customers.
When reflecting on user interviews, Rhonel shared, “I’ve spoken to [large enterprise] customers that would have not known about these issues or about accessibility if they had not interacted with me. It feels good teaching someone and showing them about accessibility.”
After experiencing a revelation through assistive technology and accessibility himself, Rhonel’s advice to those considering working with Fable is: “Prepare to have your mind blown.”
To learn more about tapping into the insights from the Fable tester community like Rhonel, book a call with us.
“I’ve spoken to customers that would have not known about these issues or about accessibility if they had not interacted with me. It feels good teaching someone and showing them about accessibility.”
Rhonel Cinous
Accessibility tester
