View Full Version : How do you type (for quads)
I used to do all of my typing with my left hand and one finger but I developed carpal tunnel syndrome and I now use Dragon 6.0 voice recognition. I also started using a MouseBoard which I purchased over the Net for about $15, and this is where I place my Kensington Expert Mouse.
Addendum: Tuesday, July 6, 2004.
http://freelook.org/
PN
[This message was edited by Paul Nussbaum on 07-06-04 at 08:52 PM.]
Leather cuffs with half-pencils (eraser end.)
svenstrs
09-30-2002, 06:05 PM
I'm a C-5 complete, so I have just biceps. I put a pencil in my splint and can tap out short messages For longer stuff, I use Dragon version 5. for cursor control, I just use Microsoft mouse keys.
can you describe what to do with the Kensington mouse? It sounds like a pretty fancy device.
I just use the "Clicklock" on the kensington mouse to do my copy and paste. Other than that, I just use the left and right button.
I recently purchased a mouseboard for $15 off the Net and it has worked very well for me and I have a lot less pain. The website address is http://www.mouseboard.net/
PN
so I type with my big fingure...
And Im using very handy logitech trackball
==============================
"It was once written "To thine own self be true". But how do we know who we really are? Every man must confront the monster within himself, if he is ever to find peace without. .." Outer Limits(Monster)
antiquity
09-30-2002, 08:09 PM
My fingers are straight so I type with the pointer finger on my right hand. I place my thumb on the inside of my pointer finger to stabilize it.
starlightangel
10-01-2002, 07:06 AM
I use a head mounted sensor and an onscreen keyboard. I have tried dictation software but find it too hard to compose and dictate at the same time.
kimmyprettyface
10-01-2002, 08:45 AM
i use the side of my left pinky and a touch pad for a mouse (like whats on a laptop)... i have the dragon software but am way too impatient to use it, besidses my setup is easier and faster for me
ghoti
10-01-2002, 09:23 AM
I'm a C5 incomplete and can use the index finger of both hands. I've actually got full movement in all the other fingers, but they're all so numb that they're useless for anything unless I'm looking right at the object I'm touching.
I use my left hand for the space bar and ctrl, alt and shift keys. Works great.
~See you at the SCIWire-used-to-be-paralyzed Reunion http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/wavey.gif ~
MissLiz32160
10-01-2002, 11:31 AM
Stick a pen or pencil between my right pointer and middle knuckle area and use my left thumb nail. Hunt and peck typing.
Got the dragon dictate....never seems to work for me. Any suggestions?
I just my thumb as well. And stickey keys for shift, etc. It works well. I'm getting Dragon, but not sure how much I'll use it.
Scorpion
10-01-2002, 12:09 PM
I use a pen or marker (preferably a Sharpie) in my right hand between my middle & ring fingers and hit shift with my left thumb. I can type pretty fast once I get into a groove. I probably type around 30wpm, which is fast for not using all my fingers, I guess. I knew how to type pre-SCI (was never very fast) so it helped that I knew where all the letters were. I sometimes use Sticky Keys if I'm holding the phone or eating.
~Rus
"Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there with open arms and open eyes" (Incubus)
[This message was edited by Scorpion on Oct 01, 2002 at 03:18 PM.]
sharon
10-01-2002, 12:42 PM
A mouthstick or Dragon. By the way how many of you use mouthsticks?
meson
10-01-2002, 02:19 PM
universal bracelet (the floppy material kind) stuffed with a pencil or rod, and i pop on a white rubber tip (made for mouthsticks) so as not to turn the keyboard pink. and of course Dragon for lengthy compositions.
Kensington expert mouse is key, too. there's also this set-up, which is most effeicient for quads...
http://www.gpk.com/qt.htm
~Velcro holds my life together~
starlightangel
10-01-2002, 04:08 PM
Originally posted by Sharon:
A mouthstick or Dragon. By the way how many of you use mouthsticks?
I did for a few months out of desperation dealing with a program that was incompatible w/ my onscreen keyboard. It killed my neck. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/mad.gif
Dann21
10-01-2002, 05:18 PM
I don't know what kind of keyboards or mouse you guys use, but I am a quadriplegic and I think by far the best keyboard out there is the one with a touch pad built into it. As long as you can move your arm all you do is put your thumb on the pad and move it up or down. And to click all you do is tap your thumb on the pad it saves a lot of time and frustration. If you are interested here is the web site
http://www.fentek-ind.com/trackball-keyboard.htm
When you go to the web site you should see a picture that says mini touchpad keyboard. All you do is call the phone number provided and give them the order number. If you're a quadriplegic you should seriously think about purchasing this keyboard it's great. It really does help. I also use Dragon NaturallySpeaking 6.0 between the keyboard and the NaturallySpeaking it makes using a computer almost like I normally used to do it.
Oh yeah that keyboard works great on strategy videogames.
MissLiz32160:
If you can provide me with some information about your PC, I might be able to make some suggestions regarding Dragon.
PN
I used to use a pencil wedged between the knuckles of my right hand and press on the space bar with my left hand. Now that voice dictation (dragons speak version 6) works relatively well, and I use it almost exclusively.
I attributed the success of dragons speak to the evolution of voice recognition software packages and the introduction of DDR memory. I first tried using dragons speak on a Intel 4, 1.8 MHz with a half a gigabyte of DDR. I was suitably impressed and purchased my own copy for $150, which I am currently running on a Pentium 4 2.2 MHz with 1 GB of DDR memory. It worked fine with half of that.
I have found a remarkable success rate when dictating into Microsoft Word rather than any other program. So I dictating into word and then copy and pasted with my Kensington trackball into wherever I want to. I do this approximately 70 percent of the time. You still need to do some corrections and editing but it's much more efficient and less trouble on my joints and muscles than physically typing .
If I have problems with Dragon, I usually disconnect the headset and then plug it back again. Sometimes I shut down my firewall, Zone Alarm, which is currently running along with the Norton 2002 antivirus. Sometimes system resources can be an issue and I try to keep my resources between 84 percent or 93 percent free, but the firewall and router use up the system resources and when I started my PC I was at 84 percent. Right now I am dictating into Microsoft Word and understand that sometimes it is necessary to go back to make corrections.
If you are using Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition, you can increase your memory to 256 MB and I would advise against going up to 512 MB. Microsoft with its newest operating system XP can probably handle 4 GB of RAM.
PN
FREEJ
10-02-2002, 08:30 PM
I have no wrist/finger movement, and my hands are in a semi-clenched position. I take a pencil and ''weave'' it through my thumb, pointer and mid-finger,,,,where the eraser end sticks out. Then i ''hunt 'n peck'' pretty fast. Also, i use my left pointer knuckle to hold the ''shift'' key down,,,,oh yea,,,i use a trackball instead of a mouse.
dyerstm
10-07-2002, 04:30 PM
Well for me, when I'm in the comfort of my home, I use a mouthstick, I don't really like the idea, of someone(or the thought) of somone listining to my conversations while use speech software - On the other hand, I really doubt that either of my PCA would find my correspondance that interesting anyway!!
For me the mouth stick, is a good way to keep what control I have left in shape!!
sisyphus
10-07-2002, 04:59 PM
I use the Eye-Gaze System. http://www.eyegaze.com/indexdis.htm.
I would be dead in the water without it. I can no longer use Dragon, and I just don't have the control to use a mouthstick. It is spendy, but worth every cent.
Hi, Jon. I went over to the Eye-Gaze site and it seems that you can use a combination of voice commands and I really don't understand how the eye tracker knows where you are looking.
PN
I intend to keep typing, no matter how much the vercockte pain and scoliosis try to stop me! They keep me from sleeping, eating, and going out, but not from typing - yet.
[This message was edited by alan on Oct 08, 2002 at 09:01 PM.]
sisyphus
10-07-2002, 10:21 PM
Hi PN. The system has a camera on the monitor. I look at the onscreen keyboard and the camera reads my retina. You can adjust the speed of the sensor, and you can also take advantage of word prediction. I can also store commonly used phrases. I use it in conjunction with E-triloquist to communicate as I can no longer speak. Getting used to it was like tying flies with your teeth, but it is like second nature now.
Wise Young
10-07-2002, 10:48 PM
Jon, I have to say that Dragon (if that is what you are using) should use you as their poster child. I am so impressed by the speed of your typing in the chat room. It is incredible. Wise.
"I look at the onscreen keyboard and the camera reads my retina"
Hi Jon: I had no idea that this technology existed where the camera is able to read your retina and you can type. It seems that Dr. Young is very impressed with the speed and accuracy while you are chatting with others in the live chat room. I would like to learn more about this technology and I will look for you in the chat room.
Cheers. PN
sisyphus
10-08-2002, 11:40 PM
The sad thing is that most quad's are not aware of the options out there. The only way I learned it was available was because a fellow patient in the care center I lived in used it. He was "locked in" because of a brain stem stroke. Another problem is the price of the unit, and trying to get insurance to pay for it. There is another system called EZ-Keys by Word+. A friend who is in late stage A.L.S. uses it to communicate. It is operated by a switch and she was using a thumb switch, but has lost use of her hand now, so they have made it an eyebrow switch. I cannot imagine what this existence would be without these tools.
I have to make a confession. I am not as fast as you think I am. I use a lot of saved phrases in chat. Word prediction also is a great help. My proficiency has improved over the years, but what else do I have to do but practice? http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
I look forward to meeting you in the chat room PN.
My OS/2 Warp comes with VoiceType, but I never really got into setting it up. Firstly, I want to type, and secondly, speaking is a problem for me due to the abdominal pain, so I couldn't do much voice typing, anyway.