Scherer, Marcia J. 1948–

(Marcia S. Joslyn-Scherer, Marcia Joslyn Scherer)

PERSONAL:

Born June 9, 1948; married. Education: Graduated from Syracuse University, 1970; University of Rochester, Ph.D. and M.P.H.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Institute for Matching Person & Technology, 486 Lake Rd., Webster, NY 14580; University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave., P.O. Box 664, Rochester, NY 14642. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Academic and administrator. Institute for Matching Person & Technology, Webster, NY, president and director; University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation. American Psychological Association, fellow in rehabilitation psychology, applied experimental and engineering psychology, and in measurement, evaluation, and statistics; also fellow of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America.

WRITINGS:

Communication in the Human Services: A Guide to Therapeutic Journalism, Sage Publications (Beverly Hills, CA), 1980.

Living in the State of Stuck: How Technologies Affect the Lives of People with Disabilities, Brookline Books (Cambridge, MA), 1993, 4th edition, 2005.

(Editor, with Laura A. Cushman) Psychological Assessment in Medical Rehabilitation, American Psychological Association (Washington, DC), 1995.

(Editor, with Jan C. Galvin) Evaluating, Selecting, and Using Appropriate Assistive Technology, Aspen Publishers (Gaithersburg, MD), 1996.

Assistive Technology: Matching Device and Consumer for Successful Rehabilitation, American Psychological Association (Washington, DC), 2002.

Connecting to Learn: Educational and Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities, American Psychological Association (Washington, DC), 2004.

(With Desleigh de Jonge and Sylvia Rodger) Assistive Technology in the Workplace, Mosby Elsevier (St. Louis, MO), 2007.

Editor of Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. Member of editorial boards, including Disability and Rehabilitation. Former member of the editorial boards of Assistive Technology and Rehabilitation Psychology.

SIDELIGHTS:

Marcia J. Scherer, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, has published a number of books on the health industry and health-related topics. Her second book, Living in the State of Stuck: How Technologies Affect the Lives of People with Disabilities, saw its fourth edition published in 2005. The book covers the range of assistive technologies that help disabled people live more independent lives and also discusses the people who use these technologies. Their stories show how their successful usage of assistive technologies and their adoption of newer technologies have improved the quality of their lives. Scherer also discusses how the technologies' evolution and application allow their users to function on all levels of society.

Anne Pemberton, writing in EASI Information Technology and Disabilities E-Journal, noted that the book offers "good insight into the personal needs and desires of rehabilitation clients." Pemberton added that Living in the State of Stuck "should be on the recommended reading list for those entering the rehabilitative and special education fields. It is highly recommended to practitioners of both fields as well as to family, friends, co-workers and employers of persons with disabilities" or even those with a general interest in the field. Patricia Gust French, reviewing the account in the A.S.-H.A. Leader, remarked that Living in the State of Stuck "met the author's stated purpose: to provide insights from the perspectives and lives of persons with disabilities on their successes and failures with technologies. It would be an inexpensive yet valuable resource in settings where technologies are being designed."

Scherer told CA: "As an only child growing up in a very small town in western New York, I was often lonely and bored. To bring excitement into my life, I would read, read, read. I loved the ‘Nancy Drew’ series, and in my early teenage years read some fairly sophisticated literature—for example, books by the French author Colette. I just happened upon her writing while in a bookstore—a favorite place of mine to visit along with the library! Because I read so much, I always did well in English in school. I worked for the school paper and decided to pursue a degree in journalism (Syracuse University, class of 1970). For me, I guess it was a natural evolution from reader to writer.

"Authors who richly describe their characters influence my work. After my journalism degree I then became a psychologist, so anyone who drew a verbally vivid portrait of the complex individual would draw my attention. Perhaps that is why today I prefer the biographical account over the fictional one.

"But who actually influences my work the most is my husband because he is just so positive about my writing and is additionally full of good ideas. Even though he doesn't like to write himself, he is actually very good at it and is a masterful storyteller.

"Unfortunately, my writing process is pretty much catch as catch can. It's important to have as few distractions as possible, so I often work late into the evening—or early morning to be precise.

"I forgot who said this, but I couldn't agree more: ‘I hate the act of writing, but I love having written.’ It truly is very hard work. Everything I write has to be accurate, and it has to be grounded in research. That can be exhausting.

"Living in the State of Stuck is my favorite book because I tried to employ fiction techniques (such as invoking rich character description and dialogue) into this nonfiction account of the lives of people who are paralyzed and how their lives changed over twenty years. I also did this in Connecting to Learn: Educational and Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities, which is about people who are blind or who are deaf. My other books are pretty much academic.

"I have learned in my many years of working with people with psychiatric or physical disabilities that each person has a very interesting life story, and the key is to help them bring it out. That just never ceases to amaze me, and that is what I want my readers to take away with them when they read my books."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

A.S.H.A. Leader, December 21, 1999, Patricia Gust French, review of Living in the State of Stuck: How Technologies Affect the Lives of People with Disabilities, p. 18.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, September 1, 2004, M. Mohammed, review of Connecting to Learn: Educational and Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities, p. 159.

Generations, May 1, 1994, review of Living in the State of Stuck, p. 23.

Journal of Rehabilitation, November 1, 1994, review of Living in the State of Stuck, p. 373.

Reference & Research Book News, August 1, 2000, review of Living in the State of Stuck, 3rd edition, p. 122.

SciTech Book News, March 1, 2002, review of Assistive Technology: Matching Device and Consumer for Successful Rehabilitation, p. 115.

ONLINE

EASI Information Technology and Disabilities E-Journal,http://www.rit.edu/~easi/ (June 28, 2008), Anne Pemberton, review of Living in the State of Stuck.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Web site,http://www.nichd.nih.gov/ (June 13, 2008), author profile.

Institute for Matching Person and Technology Web site,http://members.aol.com/IMPT97/MPT.html (June 28, 2008), author profile.

Washington University in St. Louis Web site,http://www.wustl.edu/ (June 13, 2008), author profile.