Tools for the physically impaired?

[u-noob-tu]

I have a friend who has cerebral palsy. That means he can barely use his hands, and he can't speak at all, but he loves his computer with ubuntu, but its very difficult for him to use it. I did manage to find one possibly useful program in the software center called "MouseTrap", but i wasnt able to find much on the internet in terms of programs or tools to help him. does anyone have any suggestions?

[earthpigg]

hi,

I have only a passing familiarity with the condition gleaned from wikipedia, so cannot offer any advice from experience. If you were to say something such as "he finds it especially frustrating how....", we could probably find a way to solve such specific technical challenges. And, who knows, maybe as a result of that other people will find this thread on google and benefit.

This gentlemen (http://www.conchbbs.com/) and his blog (http://scottroyall.wordpress.com/) came to mind, though. You may have some resources and advice there (I don't know if he uses Ubuntu or Linux). He has CP and is a software developer only having one finger with which to type - one way or another, he's found ways to make technology work for and with him.

Many swear by Orca (in the Software Center) - it allows extensive custom key-binding and similar, so may assist in reducing key-presses needed to accomplish any given task (the text-to-speech is on by default, but can obviously be disabled if it isn't needed). It also allows keyboard-only menu navigation. It will probably have a heavy up-front setup time-cost.

I believe there are several firefox addons targeted at helping out folks like your buddy. I've never used any and so cannot offer any specific recommendations, but that is a route worth exploring. Firefox addons are generally cross-platform and not "Ubuntu only".

If he is a technical user, or wants to become one, the linux terminal has many built-in ways to reduce repetitive key-presses.

.bashrc aliases - you can turn any common terminal command into one or two letters. example: I type "df" and hit enter, instead of having to type "df --Th -x tmpfs" every time. I also type "e" instead of "exit", and the list continues.
tab autocomplete. type the first few letters of any command, then hit 'tab' to explore this.
for any repetitive series of commands, shell scripts are the clear answer. type it once, use it a zillion times.
In general, anything nerds have created to allow lazy typing could probably be harnessed for your buddy.

[u-noob-tu]

hi,

I have only a passing familiarity with the condition gleaned from wikipedia, so cannot offer any advice from experience. If you were to say something such as "he finds it especially frustrating how....", we could probably find a way to solve such specific technical challenges. And, who knows, maybe as a result of that other people will find this thread on google and benefit.

This gentlemen (http://www.conchbbs.com/) and his blog (http://scottroyall.wordpress.com/) came to mind, though. You may have some resources and advice there (I don't know if he uses Ubuntu or Linux). He has CP and is a software developer only having one finger with which to type - one way or another, he's found ways to make technology work for and with him.

Many swear by Orca (in the Software Center) - it allows extensive custom key-binding and similar, so may assist in reducing key-presses needed to accomplish any given task (the text-to-speech is on by default, but can obviously be disabled if it isn't needed). It also allows keyboard-only menu navigation. It will probably have a heavy up-front setup time-cost.

I believe there are several firefox addons targeted at helping out folks like your buddy. I've never used any and so cannot offer any specific recommendations, but that is a route worth exploring. Firefox addons are generally cross-platform and not "Ubuntu only".

If he is a technical user, or wants to become one, the linux terminal has many built-in ways to reduce repetitive key-presses.

.bashrc aliases - you can turn any common terminal command into one or two letters. example: I type "df" and hit enter, instead of having to type "df --Th -x tmpfs" every time. I also type "e" instead of "exit", and the list continues.
tab autocomplete. type the first few letters of any command, then hit 'tab' to explore this.
for any repetitive series of commands, shell scripts are the clear answer. type it once, use it a zillion times.
In general, anything nerds have created to allow lazy typing could probably be harnessed for your buddy.


thanks for the reply. ill take a look at that blog you linked to. i do believe ive heard of a firefox add on called "iMacros" which, from what i remember, is all about shortcuts for repetitive tasks. that would be great for my friend. hes not as geeky as some of us may be (especially me), but he does use ubuntu quite often, it just takes him awhile to do things. i think he'll be happy to have some timesaving tools.

[annaek]

Hi,

I don't know much about cerebral palsy, so I don't know if any of this will be useful. I have chronic hand and arm pain, and I do use a couple pieces of assistive software. Perhaps some of it might help your friend.

You mentioned mousetrap. I've never been able to get it to work successfully, but I would recommend you investigate eviacam (see this forum post: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1902772). Eviacam is very similar (in concept) to mousetrap.

I use the hover clicker included with Ubuntu (documentation here: https://help.ubuntu.com/11.04/ubuntu-help/a11y-dwellclick.html). It eliminates the need to physically click the mouse. Depending on what specific challenges your friend has, you might also investigate sticky keys and mouse keys (both included with Ubuntu). I should mention that I've sometimes had some trouble with the dwell clicker. Sometimes it doesn't load correctly on boot. It's an awesome tool when it works, but if you decide to use it, be prepared for potential problems.

If your friend can operate any sort of pointing device, you might look into Dasher (available in the Software Center). It allows you to enter text using only a pointing device. There is a bit of a learning curve, but I really like Dasher. There are also ways to control Dasher using only switches. I've never tried any of them, but that is something you can look into if it would be beneficial.

I also know that on screen keyboards can be helpful to some people with physical challenges. I've played some with the Gnome On-Screen Keyboard (available in the Software Center), and it appears to be very powerful. Ubuntu includes Onboard (another on-screen keyboard).

In general, I've found that it's helpful to automate and consolidate as much as possible. For example, I use Thunderbird to get e-mail from four different mail accounts, and I have a script that does my backups. I can't give you any specific suggestions (because each set of tasks has to be individually evaluated), but it is amazing how much those little things help.

Thanks for mentioning iMacros. I just installed it, and I think it will save me some pain in the future.

Good luck to you and your friend!