Dexterity Difficulties and Impairments

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Individuals with dexterity difficulties experience pain, discomfort, or complete loss of feeling in their fingers, hands, wrists, or arms, making it difficult to use a standard keyboard or mouse. Dexterity difficulties and impairments can be caused by a wide range of common illnesses and accidents such as carpal tunnel, arthritis, stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, loss of limbs or digits, spinal cord injuries, and repetitive stress injury, among others.<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/dexterity.aspx</ref>

Assistive Technologies

  • Speech recognition systems, also called voice recognition programs, allow people to give commands and enter data using
their voices rather than a mouse or keyboard.<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/dexterity.aspx</ref>
  • On-screen keyboard programs provide an image of a standard or modified keyboard on the computer screen. The user selects
the keys with a mouse, touch screen, trackball, joystick, switch, or electronic pointing device.<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/dexterity.aspx</ref>
  • Keyboard filters include typing aids, such as word prediction utilities and add-on spelling checkers. These products
reduce the required number of keystrokes. Keyboard filters enable users to quickly access the letters they need and to
avoid inadvertently selecting keys they don't want.<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/dexterity.aspx</ref>
  • Touch screens are devices placed on the computer monitor (or built into it) that allow direct selection or activation of
the computer by touching the screen.<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/dexterity.aspx</ref>
  • Alternative input devices (including alternative keyboards, electronic pointing devices, sip-and-puff systems, wands and
sticks, joysticks and trackballs) allow individuals to control their computers through means other than a standard
keyboard or pointing device.<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/dexterity.aspx</ref>

References

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