Scenario 7 - Using a keyguard and adjusting keyboard response

Nicola is in Primary 3 (Year 2 in England and Wales) at a mainstream primary school. She has cerebral palsy which affects her fine motor control. She uses her thumb to type but she will brush keys with the ball of her hand as she reaches across the keyboard, and sometimes accidentally rests on a key so that several letters are typed by mistake.

With a keyguard, Nicola no longer accidentally hits keys. By turning off the key repeat, she can type more accurately. On the old BBC computer shown in the photograph, Nicola typed capitals by pressing the ‘Shift Lock’ key. On a more modern Macintosh or PC, she would use Sticky Keys to type capitals and control key functions (e.g. Ctrl-P).

Key skills and equipment

The key skills for the above example are the ability to:

• attach a keyguard to the pupil’s computer
• use the Keyboard Control Panel to switch off key repeat
• use Accessibility Options or Easy Access to turn on Sticky Keys.

The key equipment is:

• a keyguard
• computer Control Panel

Scenario 8 - Making use of Accessibility Options

Tanya has cerebral palsy and also attends a Primary 3 class in a mainstream primary school. She has more significant physical involvement than Nicola, and has uses a Zygo chin pointer to access a standard keyboard with a keyguard. The school staff had recognized that Tanya would have difficulty with the keyboard, and also that ICT was important to give her access to the curriculum and complete work independently.

The school staff worked with a local occupational therapist to investigate keyboard adaptations and alternatives. The therapist borrowed some equipment from a specialist centre working with SEN and ICT and Tanya tried:

• a keyguard
• a ‘dibber’ – a t-bar pointer held in her fist, which she used to target the keys (made by the OT)
• a wooden stand to hold the keyboard at an angle to make it easier for her to use the dibber
• on-screen keyboards operated by a joystick

However, none of these were satisfactory; so staff from the assessment centre visited with a wider range of equipment. The chin pointer was chosen as being the best access tool. Although obtrusive, it was by far the most efficient access method for Tanya at that time.

Tanya’s skills and circumstances will change and she may find that a mouth stick, or head-operated mouse sensor system would be more appropriate in the future. So it is very important to review her access method periodically.

Tanya’s keyboard is held almost vertical in the frame; this makes it more comfortable for her when typing, maintains better posture, and allows her to see the keyboard and screen at the same time. (If the keyboard were flat on the desk she would have to continually look between keyboard and screen.) Tanya is very accurate, but sometimes tremors slightly on a key and gets two letters instead of one. A ‘Tremor’ or ‘Post Acceptance Delay’ of 0.5 seconds is used to filter any repeated unwanted key presses. The Repeat Delay and Repeat rates are both set to 0.3 seconds to prevent extra letters if Tanya accidentally rests on a key. Lastly, Tanya uses Sticky Keys to generate shifted keys and control commands.

These settings were found by experimenting with the timings in the computer Control Panels. It is important to find the lowest possible settings that still give a good response – a Tremor setting of 1 second could be irritating because Tanya would have to wait for a second when typing double letters (as in ‘look’, for example).

Key skills and equipment

The key skills for the above example are the ability to:

• recognize when a pupil is having difficulty with the keyboard and / or mouse
• be aware that there are alternatives, and know how to get help to assess which device is best.
• adjust the keyboard response settings in the Control Panels

• an angled keyboard stand
• a keyguard
• a chin pointer.
• keyboard and Accessibility / Easy Access Control Panels

Mouse adjustments

• Mouse speed
  Mouse speed sets how far and fast the pointer moves. Pupils who have difficulty pointing accurately may find it easier if the mouse speed is slowed down. The advantage of low speed is that small accidental mouse movements do not have as much effect on the pointer position: the disadvantage is that you have to move the mouse a long way to cover the whole screen. You can adjust the mouse speed using the Mouse Control Panel in Windows and Macintosh computers.
• Mouse buttons
  The Mouse Control Panels can also be used to adjust and slow down the double-click speed so that pupils can double click on items to open them. With Windows 95 onwards, there is the facility to change the mouse buttons to suit left-handed users. The ‘drivers’ (programs to make the device work on the computer) supplied with replacement mice or rollerballs may also have extra facilities. For example, the Microsoft IntelliMouse, and most Kensington and Logitech devices come with software which lets you program the buttons to drag, double click or carry out other actions on the computer.
• Mouse Pointer size and shape
  With Windows 95 onwards, the mouse pointer size and shape can be changed using the Mouse Control Panel. Increasing the pointer size or changing its colour can help pupils with a visual impairment see it more easily. The Mouse Trails facility leaves a ‘trail’ behind the pointer it as it moves, making it easier to see. There are also many programs available for Windows that let you change the appearance of the pointer – see the appendices. Macintosh computers do not have a choice of pointers built-in, but programs can be obtained to provide them. The Trace Center trace.wisc.edu and other Web sites have more information about these utilities; many can also be downloaded for trial.
• Keyboard short cuts and macros
  Some pupils cannot use the mouse, but can operate the keyboard effectively. Pupils who type with a head-pointer or mouth stick will have difficulty with mouse control. Many operations have key commands so that the mouse is not needed – for example, Ctrl-P or Command-P to print. Pupils who cannot hold down more than one key at once can press them sequentially, using Sticky Keys). Full control over the mouse pointer, using the keyboard, can be achieved using MouseKeys. Another way to select items from menus or dialogue boxes is to use macros. Many popular word processors (e.g. Clarisworks, Word) allow you to ‘record’ a particular sequence of mouse movements and keyboard operations, and then ‘play it back’ by pressing a combination of keys. They also have pre-defined short cuts or macros for accessing many of the functions, which can be operated by pointing and clicking or typing key combinations.
• MouseKeys
  If the learner cannot control a pointing device, but can use the keyboard effectively, MouseKeys is worth investigating. MouseKeys is in Macintosh Easy Access, and Windows 95 (or later) Accessibility Options Control Panels. It uses the numeric keypad at the right hand side of most keyboards to control the mouse pointer.
  MouseKeys controls the movement of the pointer, not the position – press ‘8’ on the keypad and the pointer moves up the screen; release the key and it stops. This is generally slower to use than a mouse or equivalent where the pointer position is directly related to the mouse position – move the mouse a set distance and the pointer moves proportionally. While MouseKeys is an extremely useful and cheap alternative to the mouse, if you need to use the pointer a lot you should look at some of the mouse alternatives which may give better and faster control.
  MouseKeys may also be helpful for pupils who can move the pointer with a mouse or rollerball, but have difficulty with the buttons – for example, they might move the mouse accidentally while pressing the buttons and click on the wrong part of the screen. Using MouseKeys, the numeric keypad keys can replace the mouse buttons.

This ICTS website is maintained by Inclusive Technology.