Disabled Writer Challenges
Being a severely disabled writer is quite a challenge. For one thing, I have very little use of my hands. I type with a typing wand, or as I like to call it, a headstick. "Typing wand" makes me sound like a nerdy magician. Some handicapped people use chin pointers to type. Others use programs such as Dragon Naturally Speaking to dictate to the computer. Technology has developed to the point where you can actually move a mouse by simply moving your head. A laser dot is placed on your forehead and the cursor's movements correspond to those of the laser. There's just one problem with these assistive devices. No "special" gadget that I know of allows you to control the mouse with minimal effort, optimum speed, and pinpoint accuracy. Luckily, there are ways to work around this
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Most people have never heard of it, but it's already on your computer. It allows you to move the mouse by using the number pad on the right side of the keyboard. To access MouseKeys (and other goodies that I'll get to later), click on the Start menu and select Control Panel. The first icon displayed is Accessibility Options (see second image). Double-click it. Now! Click the Mouse tab at the top of the dialog box (see third image). Check the box next to "Use MouseKeys." You may want to tinker with the way this option works, so click on Settings (see fourth image). Here, we can customize our MouseKeys. To decrease or increase the speed of the mouse, drag the Top Speed slider arrow left or right. You can also adjust the acceleration speed of the mouse. My advice is to set both speeds on high. A slow acceleration speed can be very trying. I can assure you that it will never be too fast to handle. These speeds vary from computer to computer, but for me, faster is easier. Let's run through all of the MouseKeys actions. To move the mouse, press the arrow keys. To left-click, press "5." To right-click, press "-" and then "5." To disable right-clicking, press "/". To drag, press "0." To drop, press
Most people have never heard of it, but it's already on your computer. It allows you to move the mouse by using the number pad on the right side of the keyboard. To access MouseKeys (and other goodies that I'll get to later), click on the Start menu and select Control Panel. The first icon displayed is Accessibility Options (see second image). Double-click it. Now! Click the Mouse tab at the top of the dialog box (see third image). Check the box next to "Use MouseKeys." You may want to tinker with the way this option works, so click on Settings (see fourth image). Here, we can customize our MouseKeys. To decrease or increase the speed of the mouse, drag the Top Speed slider arrow left or right. You can also adjust the acceleration speed of the mouse. My advice is to set both speeds on high. A slow acceleration speed can be very trying. I can assure you that it will never be too fast to handle. These speeds vary from computer to computer, but for me, faster is easier. Let's run through all of the MouseKeys actions. To move the mouse, press the arrow keys. To left-click, press "5." To right-click, press "-" and then "5." To disable right-clicking, press "/". To drag, press "0." To drop, press