On Wed, 20 Dec 2000, Richard Blackburn wrote:
> Anyone know who's got what for disablility Linux stuff. My cousin,
> biomedical electronic engineer, has Lou Gherig's disease (yes, the same
> one as Stephen Hawking) and would like to setup a Linux network at home
> - to replace M$. He's a computer wiz and played around years ago with
> Linux years ago, but at this time the use of his arms and hands is gone,
> will be wheelchair confined very soon, and more as it gets progressively
> worse. So we're talking the whole hog here - all the stuff we take for
> granted has to be reconfigured for the disabilities.
> Richard
Hi Richard.
Firstly you may need to have modified inputs (keyboard & mouse) h/w
for him to use. It all depends on the degree of his disability.
Contact "Technical Aid for the Disabled" at Ryde (yellowpages.com.au)
and they will be able to assist, they are volunteers (mechanical and
electrical engineers) who assess what is needed and build it on
site. Keep in mind that its a volunteer service so there is a waiting
list. H/W ranges from bow pipe mice to enlarged foot operated
mice - most h/w appears the same as standard of-the-shelf
offerings. Voice boards are usually RS232 standard but the range
in price from $3K to $20K..... dependent on there features.
You can add Linux/IBM Via-A-Voice s/w with standard sound
card to do basic talking, although my (little) experience is most
people require the former.
Once this is done, then interfacing to whatever OS is easier.
My wife works with people in this category of disability and
so I am aware of what is sometimes required. Running Linux
then shoud be no problem for your cousin, once your set up
the system for him. Enlarged fonts, programmed repeat and
function keys, and gross/fine mouse movements then need
to be customized to suit.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Grahame
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