Daily Activities Made Easier for People with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
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Æ
• Difficulty holding down control or shift
key and hitting another key at the same
time
Æ If on Windows XP, go to the control
panel  accessibility options and select
StickyKeys. StickyKeys allows for the
use of control, shift, or Alt pressing one
key at a time
• Difficulty reaching all of the keys on
the keyboard with fingers
Æ Purchase a child size keyboard. The keys
are smaller and spread over a smaller
surface area (with less space between
keys) so fingers do not need to reach as
far to type
• It is easier/more efficient to manipulate
a mouse than to type on a keyboard OR
there is a decreased ability to isolate
finger movements to use a standard
keyboard due to arm/hand weakness
Æ If the neck is strong enough to hold the
head upright or can move the head/neck
with support of a cervical collar or
wheelchair headrest, an onscreen
keyboard can be used
Æ Onscreen keyboards are usually operated
by clicking each letter on the monitor
with a mouse pointer. If unable to click,
some onscreen keyboards also have a
“dwell” mode that allows one to point
and hold rather than click. Some
onscreen keyboards have a word
prediction feature which is desirable.
Word prediction tries to guess what
word is being typed and can save time
and energy (e.g. if you type “th” Â list
on keyboard may include “the”,
“through”, “that”, etc)
Æ Windows XP provides an onscreen
keyboard under Start all programs Â
accessories  accessibility  on-screen
keyboard or a free online keyboard
called Click-N-Type can be downloaded
Æ Other on-screen keyboard programs are
Dasher, Wivik, EZKeys, SofType,
Reach
Æ If it is most comfortable using the
computer in bed or in a recliner, a laptop
or computer monitor can be placed on a
lap tray or bed table.