EASI List of Adaptive Equipment
I received this list of information from an online course I took several years ago
through EASI's program at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). The course is entitled
"Barrier-Free Information Technology" and is often offered online.
Please visit their website if you are interested in
enrolling: EASI
@ RIT
Keyguards
Some people have trouble controlling their fingers and may depress
keys unintentionally. A keyguard sits on the keyboard with holes for
each key. The person's fingers can droop and drag without depressing
keys. It takes a deliberate movement to actually depress a key.
Alternate keyboards
There is a wide variety of different types of keyboards available.
There are mini keyboards for people who are restricted in their hand
and finger movements. Some of these may even be of interest to people
without motor impairments. For example, while not quite a mini keyboard,
I prefer my laptop keyboard because I don't have to stretch my fingers
so far which puts less stress on my wrists.
There are large keyboards with larger keys and spread out further.
This is helpful for people who lack fine motor control. There are
one-handed keyboards as well. Here there are usually something like
6 keys, and the user presses more than one key at a time to get the
different letters. This is called chording.
Mouthstick
Some users who cannot use a keyboard still use the keyboard but not
their fingers. A mouthstick is, as you can guess, held in the mouth
and used to press keys on the keyboard. Some people just resort to a
pencil.
Keyboard emulators
These are devices that pretend to be a keyboard and trick the computer
into thinking you are using a keyboard. One type is a sip-and-puff
straw or tube. The user sips and puffs simulating Morse code. Software
translates the sips and puffs into keystrokes making the computer
think you are using the keyboard. Other keyboard emulators display the
picture of a keyboard at the bottom of the computer monitor. The
cursor is moved across the picture frequently automatically by the
emulator software. When the cursor reaches the letter the user wants
to input, the user signals that to the computer. Perhaps the user can
move his or her lip and has a switch mounted next to the lip. Some
systems have the ability to track they eye movements of the user. As
the user glances across the picture of the keyboard, the cursor follows
. When the user lingers, the emulator knows to input that letter.
There are several variations on the emulator, but they enable a
severely motor impaired person to be a computer user.
Voice recognition
Voice recognition has developed as an alternative input option for
people with severe physical impairments. The sophistication of voice
recognition has increased dramatically in the past two years. The
price is also more attractive. Not many years ago, such software was
nearly $10,000, but now good software costs less than $1,000 and some
more like $200 or less. The price has fallen because this is a product
that appeals to the general public giving it a large market.
Generally speaking, voice recognition works like this. The user
speaks into a microphone and makes a user profile. This is done so the
program can recognize the way a person pronounces words. Each person
has his or her unique speech patterns. This is what makes voice
recognition difficult. But, if you can set up a personal profile,
then the computer becomes familiar with your particular speech and
can turn your speech into text.
The user can speak into a microphone and dictate commands to programs.
It is also possible to dictate letters and use a variety of computer
programs to accomplish tasks such as creating papers, spreadsheets and
databases.
It is possible to create a number of user profiles, as they are
called, so that the voice recognition program can be used by more
than one individual. However, training the software to accurately
recognize your voice is time-consuming and painstaking work. For those
willing to work at it, the results can be gratifying. For those
lacking the patience to train the computer, voice recognition will be
very disappointing.
Word prediction and/or abbreviation software
Strictly speaking these software packages do not seem like alternative
input systems, but that is only half true. You have already thought
that using some of the systems described above sounds extremely slow,
and you may wonder how anyone can use them or at least how anyone can
use them to be productive. First, with practice, all the above systems
can be done with more skill and speed than you imagine. I am a ham
radio operator and had to learn Morse code. I never became very good
at it. My high point was talking with Morse code to someone in Quebec
City and doing it in French. However, many, many ham operators can do
35 words a minute. Typists who do 60-80 words a minute are considered
good. I have heard of hams who did code over 50 words per minute.
The other thing that Morse code users do is use a lot of shorthand
symbols. Most of you probably have a personal shorthand code that you
do when writing notes to yourself. So, there is software that will
also assist speed up input.
Word prediction and/or abbreviation software, when used with other
programs such as word processing, can add speed to the computing
process for people with physical impairments. Although the programs
may seen similar, they really do different things. For example, let us
say that a student is typing a paper for psychology class. As they
are typing and they wish to enter the word psychology. He/she types
the letters psy. After typing these letters they depress a "hot key"
and a group of words is p resented on the screen like this:
1. Psychology
2. Psychiatry
3. Psychologist
4. Psychiatrist
By depressing the number 1 key, the entire word psychology replaces
the letters psy. By using word prediction here the user has saved 6
or 7 strokes.
Abbreviation software works in much the same way except that the s
oftware can be programmed to insert complete phrases. For example,
the software could be programmed to insert, Respectfully yours, by
typing ry. It is true that configuring a profile with specific phrases
relevant to a particular user takes time. When you think about the
possibilities that such time offers the individual with a disability,
it makes a great deal of sense. You may see a level of sophistication
achieved by using the combination o f macros, word prediction and
abbreviation software, that allows the user to type at speeds that you
never dreamed was possible.
Mouse alternatives
Many of today's computer programs are Windows applications. This
generally means that a mouse is meant to be the primary source of
input to the program. Alternatives to those individuals who are
unable to use a mouse might be a joystick or trackball. The joystick
may be familiar because of its use in computer games. The track ball
is very much like a mouse except that the trackball remains stationary
and the pointer on the screen is moved by rolling the trackball with
the palm of the hand as an example. Clicking on an icon is generally
done by a button or switch on the trackball.
Headstick
Actually, there are a number of pointing devices that attach to the
user's head and are tracked by the computer with a laser or infrared
system. As the user moves his/her head to and fro, it controls the
mouse. The user still has to be able to use a switch to simulate
pressing the mouse button.
Alternative input systems are many and varied. Each adaptive computer
technology vendor show has one or two more that are new. This list
provides you with a good idea of what exists and of what is possible.
In selecting the right combination of devices for the user, in many cases, it is wise to seek counsel from a professional who knows the individual you are trying to help. A doctor, physical therapist or occupational therapist can and should be consulted for two reasons. The first reason is because such people know the strengths and limitations of their patients and are usually very willing to help. The second reason is that you may gain a real ally in your advocating for access technology. The more that professionals know about adaptive technology and the more they see that it works wonders, the more they may be apt to make others aware of what computers have to offer and what you are doing to make computers accessible.
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This material is copyrighted by Richard Banks and Norman Coombs in 2000. We encourage your sharing useful individual pieces of information to help people. However, we request that you do not share the entire workshop without specific written permission.