A team at the TUM Think Tank is investigating how social media can be better used by people with intellectual disabilities—together with athletes from the Special Olympics World Games, which take place in Berlin from June 17 to 25. Among the project participants are Louis Kleemeyer, for whom reading and writing is more difficult than for others, and student Lena Pöhlmann. In an interview they talk about how social media make professional life easier, why access sometimes doesn’t work and how a new app could help.
A team at the TUM Think Tank is investigating how social media can be better used by people with intellectual disabilities—together with athletes from the Special Olympics World Games, which take place in Berlin from June 17 to 25. Among the project participants are Louis Kleemeyer, for whom reading and writing is more difficult than for others, and student Lena Pöhlmann. In an interview they talk about how social media make professional life easier, why access sometimes doesn’t work and how a new app could help.
Louis Kleemeyer completed training as a specialized practitioner for IT systems and is the founder of Unique United GmbH, an online platform by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. The 22-year-old also consults for companies on an inclusive working environment. He is currently a member of the Special Olympics World Games 2023 organizing team. In 2022 he was a Gold Medalist in tennis at the Special Olympics National Games. Kleemeyer has increased difficulty with learning, reading and writing since his brain received an inadequate supply of oxygen during his birth.
Lena Pöhlmann earned her bachelor’s degree in public health at the University of Bremen and of social work at the Katholische Stiftungshochschule München University of Applied Sciences and studied philosophy at the Munich School of Philosophy. After several years of professional experience in rehabilitation management with the Pfennigparade Foundation, the 29-year-old is currently in the TUM Master Health Sciences program, focusing on prevention and health improvement. She is the recipient of scholarships from the Hans Böckler Foundation and the Bavarian EliteAkademie.
Kleemeyer: I was in LinkedIn, I had a look at my latest post, at who liked it and who commented on it, and I responded to the comments. And I also had a look at what the others I follow are posting, especially in my professional environment.
