Richard, the oldest of three children, was born in the Los Angeles County Hospital in California. He was three months premature and weighed less than a pound. His mother's doctor recommended Richard be left to die because his low chance of survival. Richard's parents, having very strong religious beliefs, refused to follow the doctor's recommendation. Richard remained in the hospital in an incubator and went home two months later.

Richard grew up as any other child, except he had a lot of problems in school. He says his teachers thought he was non-compliant because he was stubborn and did not want to do his homework. At age 12 the school administrators referred him to an audiologist for testing. Finally, someone realized that Richard might have a hearing impairment, not a behavioral problem. The test results proved he had hearing loss. Richard finally received the equipment he needed to hear. Richard said, "for the first part of my life I didn't know anything but silence." He added, "At age 12 I heard a baby cry for the first time, a bird sing and the awful noise of traffic." It was difficult to adjust to the "hearing world," Richard says. I had to learn where noises were coming from. My life would have been a lot easier if I had been diagnosed appropriately much earlier; simply because I would not have been behind academically.

Richard was transferred to a special mainstream program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Southern California's Riverside County. It was at this school that Richard learned American Sign Language (ASL) and received speech therapy to improve his communication skills with hearing people and within the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. He also took remedial and specialized courses to catch up where he had fallen behind. While attending high school, Richard had a variety of paid jobs, including working as a clerk at the March Air Force Base in Moreno Valley, CA. He graduated from high school and completed one semester of college. Richard believes most of his knowledge was acquired through training he received on the job.

Richard moved to California's Central Coast in 1995 and began working with centers that serve adults with developmental disabilities. Richard remarked, "I had an interest in working with people with disabilities because I grew up around disabled kids." He also worked with McDowell Youth Homes serving youth with disabilities. Richard was a childcare worker and a sign language interpreter for Deaf youth.

In 1998 he became an employee at the Central Coast Center for Independent Living where he is an advocate for people with disabilities. Richard believes that to be a good advocate, one needs to draw from work experience, do research on issues that affect people with disabilities and have contact with colleagues that have specialized expertise in areas relevant to people with disabilities. Richard emphasizes the important role Assistive Technology (AT) has in his job. Assistive Technology enables him to perform some of his job duties. It also allows him to use a cell phone and participate in events and meetings.