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From: Eric.Bohlman@p1.f778.n115.z1.fidonet.org (Eric Bohlman)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: So many questions...
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Date: 6 Nov 90 04:14:33 GMT
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Index Number: 11563

 DL>    So for the questions for anyone with an answer:
 DL>  
 DL>         1)  What is the greatest challenge for handicapped
 DL>             individuals when using computers in the workplace? 

There's no one "greatest challenge" other than perhaps the inability of some  
employers to believe that a disabled person could be smart enough to use a  
computer.

In general, the situations that require accomodations are 1) difficulty in  
getting information into the computer and 2) difficulty in getting information  
out of the computer in a form that's of value to the user.

 DL>         2)  What are typical adaptations to facilitate computer
 DL>             input and output for handicapped users?
 DL>                 - Video, Sound, Keyboard, Fax, Mouse, Printer

For input, there are a number of techniques for entering data that either  
bypass the keyboard (for users who can't use it at all) or make it work  
better for users who can use it, but not optimally.  The first category is  
known as keyboard emulation, which can be divided into two sub-categories:

 1) Replacement keyboards.  One can obtain a very large keyboard (usually a  
membrane-switch matrix) with big "keys" for users who have poor fine motor  
control.  On the other hand, one can get very small keyboards for users who  
have good fine motor control but poor gross motor abilities (e.g. someone who  
can use their fingers but has trouble moving their hands).

2) Non-keyboard access systems.  These can be hardware, software or a  
combination of the two.  They basically come in three categories:

  A) Direct selection systems.  With these one selects a character with a  
pointing device such as a trackball or a joystick.  One software-only system  
that I've seen displays an image of a keyboard on the screen; the user uses a  
trackball to point to the character and then selects it with a button.

  B) Scanning systems.  With these one uses one or two switches to "grab" a  
character as a cursor passes over it at a predefined rate.

  C) Encoding systems.  The most common example would be a system that allows  
the user to enter characters in Morse Code, perhaps using a breath-activated  
switch.

The second category includes such things as programs that allow a one-handed  
user to avoid double-finger keystrokes (e.g. press ALT and D in sequence  
rather than together), keyboard macro programs, abbreviation expanders and  
word predictors (when the user types in the first few characters of a word,  
the program pops up a menu of words or phrases that could follow; if the user  
selects one, the remainder is automatically "typed" in).

<continued>
 

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