Pecking order: Typing with cerebral palsy
The majority of my freelance writing up to this point has consisted of a slew of articles related to accessibility and vision. But, thanks to my cerebral palsy, I’m in the unique position of being able to speak on accessibility from another angle: motor skills.
I’m fortunate in that my cerebral palsy is mild in severity, but it’s severe enough that I suffer from partial paralysis on the right side of my body. The reduced strength and movement makes doing anything with my limbs difficult, sometimes even painfully so.
Playing against type
Perhaps the most challenging task for me is typing. I find it extremely difficult to type properly with both hands, because the fingers on my right hand aren’t nimble enough to move about, pressing the correct keys. What this means is that my accuracy and speed in typing is not what it could be, and it takes longer to write. Moreover, it’s quite painful as well, because the muscles in my hands are so atrophied that they cause pain and fatigue rather quickly. In addition, thumb typing on iOS’s virtual keyboard, particularly on the iPhone, is out of the question. My right thumb doesn’t have the full range of motion to keep up with my left.
As I’ve found solutions to accommodate my visual needs, so too have I found methods of coping with the partial paralysis. There are two main tactics I use to help me type.
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http://www.macworld.com/article/2044544/pecking-order-typing-with-cerebral-palsy.html#tk.rss_all
