STUDENT `SEES' WITH TECHNOLOGY; COMPUTER HELPS BLIND TEEN GET AHEAD.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

What a difference a year and a special computer make for blind high school student Ryan Richards.

Last year, Richards was scrubbing potatoes and wrapping them in foil at a restaurant job. This year, he worked at a law office, transcribing cassette tapes of client interviews and dictation using the computer, which will record anything that is typed in and read it back to the user.

``On the whole, it was an awesome experience, just feeling like I could be in this atmosphere one day and have my own desk, computer and phone,'' said Richards, a senior at Desert Winds High School's west valley campus next to Quartz Hill High School. ``In the workplace and in the future, besides racing cars, which is what I really want to do, this is getting me used to pounding out stuff all day, which is what the boss will want.''

Richards' job at the Lancaster law office of R. Rex Parris this past summer was made possible with the donation of the computer and other equipment to the Antelope Valley Union High School District by a Santa Fe Springs-based computer company called KIS Computers, a supplier to the school district.

The equipment - a computer, keyboard, software, a scanner, speakers and a printer - is valued at about $7,500. The scanner enters written material such as textbook pages and homework assignments into the computer, which reads it back to the student.

KIS owner and President Richard Chan was recognized at the last high school board meeting with a plaque given to him by Richards, who gave trustees and the audience a chuckle when he cracked, ``Excuse me for not making eye contact.''

``I feel like this is the right thing to do for a blind student. What I did compared to what Ryan did is nothing,'' Chan said. ``Even though he is blind, he didn't give up and worked very hard to pursue a career. He set up an example for all young people to follow.''

Working at the law office for eight weeks, Richards took the bus from his home near the Antelope Valley Mall to the office, at 10th Street West and Avenue J.

Attorney Rob Parris said Richards was a conscientious, hard worker who strived to excel at what he did and told jokes around the office.

``He's one of these people who looks on the bright side of things,'' Parris said. ``Obviously he has more obstacles than most of us. He would fight through them and have a sense of humor. He told me a story about his dad, who said, `You can cry about (being blind) or accept it and enjoy life,' and he chose the latter.''

At school, Richards has used the computer to take spelling tests and write poems, journal entries and book reports, tasks that would have taken much longer using a typewriter and a Braille writer, a chunky, 9-pound machine that resembles a typewriter with a single row of big keys.

``I entered an essay contest, trying to win a scholarship. That on a typewriter is a two-day process, to edit out ideas and get in ones that I wanted. (With the computer) I had it done in 20 minutes,'' said Richards, who lost his sight at age 4 when cancer of the central nervous system destroyed his optic nerves. He is in remission now.

``It serves as my way of giving my work to the teacher. It's much faster,'' he said. ``Before, I would do everything in Braille and sit down with one hand on the typewriter and one hand reading Braille. It was a very long process.''

In a demonstration last week in class, Richards moved the pointer arrow to different parts of the computer screen, using the four directional keys instead of the mouse.

At each spot, the computer voice, which resembles that of a ``Wizard of Oz'' Munchkin with a bad cold, verbalized what Richards touched.

``The program reads aloud all the screen savers and the menus,'' he said. ``It lets you know exactly where you are.''

He typed in, ``Hello, my name is Ryan,'' except he switched the letters ``a'' and ``m'' in ``name.'' With a couple of keystrokes, the computer read back the phrase as he had erroneously typed, allowing him to detect the mistake and correct it.

The computer, Richards said, makes him feel less dependent on others, who previously dictated things to him or helped him correct spelling. He feels more on an equal footing with other students.

``The main benefit is that I'm actually interested and can see myself learning. It's not such a burden the way that I learn,'' he said. ``With the computer, I feel I'm with other people, not a little blind kid in the corner typing on 6 inches of foam so that the Braille writing wouldn't disturb the class.''

Anything that can make school easier is welcomed by Richards, who early on had a hard time dealing with other students' reactions to his blindness. They were cruel to him at times, leading him to sit in a puddle of water on a bench or walk him through mud.

Richards said he went through what he calls the ``cane-breaking stage,'' roughly between grades three and nine, where ``if anybody gave me lip, I broke my cane (on them).''

To this day, people come up to him and say, ``How many fingers am I holding up?'' They are either making fun of him or think he is faking it and really can see, Richards said.

The meanness was not limited to children. A teacher in the eighth grade forbade Richards to use his noisy typewriter and Braille writer because ``her way of teaching was so awesome, it could not be disturbed,'' he said sarcastically. He had to go to another class to do his work.

He stopped being angry and worrying about how people perceived his blindness because he realized he had more important things to do.

``I'm going to be myself, and if they can't deal with it, that's their problem,'' he said.

Richards said he wants to get a job as a massage therapist to help pay for college. He wants to go to an arts school in Oregon and become an artist and writer.

He's a budding poet, playing riffs off his synthesizer and doing free-form poetry at the Silverspoon Coffeehouse in Palmdale.

``I see stuff off the sound - images, shapes, words. I see shapes that have four or five dimensions, and I talk about it.''

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PHOTO (color) Ryan Richards, aided by teacher Matt Sheridan, uses a special computer.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News