Hwa-Pey Wang

Computer Access Assessment for Persons with Physical Disabilities: A Guide to Assistive Technology Interventions

An innovative flowchart, called the computer access assessment, is proposed for rehabilitative professionals to perform a comprehensive assessment when determining appropriate assistive technology devices for persons with physical disabilities. According to clients special needs, we reconstruct a new computer access assessment with the following four components: (1) seating and positioning needs, (2) keyboard adaptation needs, (3) potential anatomical control site, and (4) mouse adaptation needs. Advices about special equipment needs will be provided when following this flowchart. Two cases have been studied to illustrate how to utilize computer access assessment to assist therapists in selecting appropriating devices and intervention strategies for a given client.

Designing a Scanning On-Screen Keyboard for People with Severe Motor Disabilities

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of a scanning on-screen keyboard for persons with severe motor disabilities. In order to enhance the typing performance, the on-screen keyboard employs the group-row-column scanning and a frequency-of-use layout. Besides the international alphabetical layout, the on-screen keyboard also provides two Chinese selection layouts for Chinese users. The usability evaluation was carried out with simulations and experiments. The usability evaluation was conducted to compare the performance with that of the QWERTY layout of block scanning built in Microsoft Windows XP. The results demonstrated that the performance of using the scanning on-screen keyboard was better than that of using the Windows XP. No significant difference between the error rates of the two different keyboards was found.

A flexible on-screen keyboard: dynamically adapting for individuals' needs

This study was to design an alternative on-screen keyboard and evaluate the efficacy of this innovative layout design for people with severe physical disability. The matrix keyboard layouts was designed based on human computer interaction. A repeated experiment was performed to compare the speed and accuracy of text entry with point-and-click input method between the matrix on-screen keyboard and the Windows XP QWERTY virtual keyboard. Data analysis revealed that the matrix on-screen keyboard provided better performance for the participant. The result also indicates that layout adaptation assessment is a valid tool to confirm proper layout size for users and that alphabetic order is better than QWERTY order for a novice user to learn a new on-screen keyboard. A usability study was undertaken to evaluation the performance of the double click instead of the point-and-click plus Shift key input method. The possible causes of the results and suggestions for further studies are discussed.

Is digital divide an issue for students with learning disabilities

Exploring digital divide between students with learning disabilities (LD) and peers.No difference was found in ICT access between children with and without LD.A difference was found in ICT competencies between children with and without LD.Typical students enhanced ICT skills gradually, but those with LD did not.Specific ICT instruction programs should be provided to children with LD. The purpose of this study was to examine if digital divide exists between elementary school aged children with learning disabilities (LD) and their nondisabled peers in Taiwan. A self-reported questionnaire regarding information and communication technology (ICT) access and ICT competency, Scale of Digital Participation of Elementary School Students, designed by the authors, was used to collect data. Totally, 117 students with LD and 117 peers without disabilities were recruited in this investigation and were conducted with the questionnaire. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the opportunities to access computers and the Internet at home and at school between children with and without LD. However, there was a significant difference found in ICT competencies between children with and without LD. Moreover, students without LD enhanced their computer competency gradually year by year, but students with LD eventually did not. The findings of this study supported the notion that mere provision of ICT access is not sufficient for children with LD to master ICT skills. A specific designed ICT instruction programs should be provided to children with LD. Finally, suggestions for future studies were also discussed.

Assisting an Adolescent with Cerebral Palsy to Entry Text by Using the Chorded Keyboard

For people with severe motor disabilities, the utilization of a standard keyboard has been a challenge because of their motor limitations. This study aimed to design a chorded on-screen keyboard with a customized alternative input device to meet the needs of a client with cerebral palsy. A bilingual on-screen keyboard with Chinese and English input methods was designed especially for Chinese users. The intervention study revealed that the chorded on-screen keyboard with a customized alternative input device could significantly improve the text entry performance of the user and could efficiently be his communication tool. A deeper understanding on computer access through text entry was explored and better text entry training solutions were recommended for future researches.

Teaching Adolescents with Disabilities to Learn Chinese Keyboarding by Using Multimedia Computer Assisted Input Method Learning System

The purposes of this study were to design a multimedia computer assisted input method learning system (McAIML system) and to explore its effectiveness. The McAIML system included three parts; they were roots learning system, assisted learning keyboard, and roots assembling learning system. Three adolescents with physical or cognitive disabilities participated the instruction experiment that designed based on multiple probe single subject design. All these three participants could learn the basic assembling rules of the Da-Yi keyboarding method after the instruction.

Using Expert System to Assist Mouse Proficiency Assessment

This paper described how to use expert system to assist conducting mouse proficiency assessment. The expert system was based on neural network approach. The current study shows the result of analyzing cursor measurement between able-bodied and cognitive disability users. The result of evaluation indicated that this expert system may be an available solution for clinical professional to propose the suggestion for selecting suitable device or adjusting user environment conditions. The authors also provided some suggestions for the future research.

Computer Access for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

This study investigated the effectiveness of computer input devices on clients with spinal cord injury. Single-subject multiple probe design was used to compare the accuracy and speed of inputs of baseline and intervention phases. Three persons with spinal cord injury participated this study. The participants’ levels of the lesion were cervical 3-4, cervical 4-5 and cervical 5-6. In the baseline phase, participants used the regular mouse to move the cursor and click the target. In the intervention phase, the researchers provided participants the computer input devices based on the results of individual assessment. Experimental results indicated that persons with spinal cord injury indeed improved the accuracy and the speed of computer inputs after the assistive equipment provided. Through appropriate input devices, clients with spinal cord injury are able to operate computer effectively.