Use of One Hand/Arm

A person who performs certain job-related tasks for a person with a disability to help overcome limitations resulting from the disability. Examples include a page turner for a person who has no hands, or a travel attendant to act as a sighted guide to assist a blind employee on work-related travel. WPAS may include personal care-related assistance such as helping an employee to access the restroom, eat or drink at work, or travel for business purposes.

Alternative input devices are hardware or software solutions that allow users with a variety of impairments to access a computer in a different way. Alternative input devices allow the user to access a computer in whatever way works best for them such as using his/her feet, head, eye, mouth, breath, thumb, or a single finger. Some devices are activated by motion while others can be controlled with nerve or muscle signals, optical tracking, even brain activity and mind energy.

Alternative keyboards can be used by individuals with various impairments but are especially beneficial to individuals who experience pain and fatigue due to repetitive keyboard use. Because alternative keyboards come in many sizes and shapes, individuals with different body sizes and hand shapes, who are limited in fine motor manipulation, may benefit from using them. Alternative keyboards, sometimes called ergonomic keyboards or adjustable keyboards, may be fixed split keyboards, adjustable split, or contoured. Many increase typing comfort, and several can be positioned to accommodate individual preferences, including negative and positive tilt adjustments.

An alternative mouse is a variation of the "traditional" mouse. Alternative mice usually are designed to help accommodate individuals with various fine motor limitations, spasticity, or other gripping limitation. For example, an individual who cannot grip a traditional mouse due to arthritis, carpal tunnel, or a hand injury may be able to move a cursor effectively with a glidepoint, trackball, joystick, or other device.

New technologies in arm/hand prostheses allow greater functional use, user comfort and natural looking appearances than in the past. Batteries, microcomputers, circuitry, lightweight materials and other advances have improved the life of people who have arm/hand amputations. Older technology relied on “hook” and other limited terminals. Today arm prosthetics include grippers/holders of tools and implements including carpentry and mechanic tools and aids for daily living such as eating utensils, cutlery and outdoor recreation devices. Durable, natural looking hand covers provide an attractive appearance, as well as, improved functionality.

Articulating keyboard trays allow an individual to position the keyboard at variable heights and angles. Some trays go from sitting to standing positions and are equipped with enough space to handle a mouse; other systems offer a separate mouse tray.

Allows users to store phone numbers to pre-dial and program separate from their actual phone.

Filing cabinets that have rotating drawers for more organization potential.

Individuals with grasping, mobility, and reaching limitations may benefit from remote control blinds. These systems enable a user to control window lighting without adjusting the blind manually.

Book holders or book stands can be useful for individuals who need to hold a book open or view the pages of a text but find it difficult to do so because of hand, arm, shoulder, neck, or other limitations that effect the upper extremities. Book holders can be placed on a desk or surface and many can be elevated or positioned for easier viewing.

Compact material handling devices are small and portable enough to work in office or tight storeroom environments. These lifting and carrying devices have platforms that are variable heights. Activation of the horizontal lifting surface is typically powered by batteries, hydraulic foot pumps, or hand cranks. Ball transfer tables may be added to the horizontal-lifting surface. This reduces the push and pull force needed to move materials to and from the lifting device. Products from this category help individuals with lifting or carrying restrictions resulting from back, neck, shoulder, heart, and various repetitive strain injuries.

Ergonomic and lightweight dental and surgical instruments are available for individuals with upper extremity limitations.

Aids to assist individuals with opening doors are available. Door knobs can be difficult to grip or turn for those with fine motor or upper extremity limitations. Door knob grips and handle extenders can be low-cost alternatives to installing an automatic door opener.

Scissors that can be automatically powered to cut without manually making the motions.

Individuals with neck, back, shoulder, and upper extremity limitations may benefit from using ergonomic hand and power tools. Ergonomic hand tool designs allow users to maintain neutral postures while minimizing wrist deviations. Users also have an easier time keeping shoulders relaxed by using lightweight tools. Mechanical stressors such as misaligned finger grooves, sharp edges, and single finger triggers should be avoided. Vibration from the tool should be minimized, and heavier tools can be suspended from tool balancers when possible. Spring loaded returns on tools such as scissors and pliers are also a part of good ergonomic design.

Ergonomic office equipment includes copyholders, monitor risers, keyboard trays, keyboard rests, and foot rests. Other equipment characterized as ergonomic are ergonomic or electric staplers, staple removers, scissors, and hole punches. Individuals with handling, fingering, and grasping restrictions resulting from cumulative trauma disorders can benefit from this equipment. Products in this area alleviate the repetitive motion common to many hand-intensive jobs.

Ergonomic knives are made to be easier to use by individuals with hand limitations.

These include scissors with flexible designs for many different uses.

Expanded keyboards are typically flat and smooth. They are designed specifically to have larger keys. Most have a clear Mylar cover and many are waterproof.

Devices that can monitor eye movements and instate them as movements on acomputer screen of a mouse or across a digital keyboard.

File carousels hold manuals, books, or binders for quick reference. These can be rotated by hand, mouth or head stick, or powered by an internal motor.

Filing trays can be modified to ensure easier access for employees with a variety of disabilities. Filing Trays can be customized with pull handles, organized by colors, and made to be mobile.

Many individuals who work at desks or other types of surfaces may work more effectively with upper body support, particularly support of their forearms.  Forearm support can be provided from a properly adjusted chair’s armrests.  Forearm supports are also products that typically attach to a work surface and are adjustable. Essentially, they are armrests that attach to a work surface. There are several different types that adjust to a variety of heights and positions. Forearm support can alleviate pressure on a worker's neck, back, arms, and wrists.

Individuals with certain limitations, such as those with limited dexterity or mobility, may have difficulty with gardening activities. Adaptive items and gardening tools, such as raised flower beds or motorized gardening carts, can provide a way for individuals to work in a garden.

Accessible attachment to a car's gear shift that allows physically impaired individuals to more easily drive their car.

Gooseneck phone holders eliminate the need to hold the phone one’s ear. They can be attached to a desk or shelf and permits a user to rotate the phone to a comfortable position.

Programs that allow editing of pictures for multimedia purposes.

Attachments for handles used with walkers, canes and other supporting bars to prevent slippage and increase eay gripping.

Individuals with motor or dexterity limitations may have difficulty manipulating buttons, zippers, or performing activities of daily living, such as personal care. Adaptive grooming and dressing aids may assist someone who is experiencing difficulty with these tasks.

"Hand-free" telephones are very useful but usually are not completely hands-free. Generally, the user must be able to push at least one button to initiate calls. In addition, many are designed for residential use and are not compatible with office telephone systems.

A headset is a communication device that is comprised of an ear piece and microphone. Individuals with neck, back, shoulder, and upper extremity impairments can benefit from the use of headsets because they often eliminate the need to hold telephone receivers in awkward positions. Individuals who are easily distracted by extraneous work noise may also benefit from using them to listen to white noise or music. Various options are available: over the head, around the ear, and wireless are a few. Equipment that can be integrated with headsets are telephones, cellular phones, and speech recognition software.

Job coaches are individuals who specialize in assisting individuals with disabilities to learn and accurately carry out job duties. Job coaches provide one-on-one training tailored to the needs of the employee. They may first do a job analysis to identify the job duties, followed by developing a specific plan as to how they can best train the employee to work more and more on his/her own until completely self-sufficient and able to perform job duties accurately and effectively without assistance.

Job restructuring is a form of reasonable accommodation which enables many qualified individuals with disabilities to perform jobs effectively. Job restructuring as a reasonable accommodation may involve reallocating or redistributing the marginal functions of a job. However, an employer is not required to reallocate essential functions of a job as a reasonable accommodation. Essential functions, by definition, are those that a qualified individual must perform, with or without an accommodation. An employer may exchange marginal functions of a job that cannot be performed by a person with a disability for marginal job functions performed by one or more other employees. Although an employer is not required to reallocate essential job functions, it may be a reasonable accommodation to modify the essential functions of a job by changing when or how they are done.

Keyguards are molded plastic overlays with holes that isolate each key. Keyguards provide keying control and accuracy for individuals who use pointing sticks or other typing aids.

Left hand-dominant keyboards are keyboards designed to be used by someone who has "primary" use of the left-hand dominant.

Miniature keyboards are smaller than a standard size keyboard but still contain all the keys and functioning needed to input information. They can be used by individuals with limited dexterity or one-handed typists. Miniature keyboards can be wired, wireless or Bluetooth, and flexible.

Money handling can be a tedious task when an individual has problems grasping and manipulating fingers. Coin and currency counters and sorters and bill and coin changers are often effective accommodations to help count, wrap, or bag coins and bills.

Side wringer, lightweight, and ergonomically designed mopping systems are available for individuals who have difficulty mopping due to back, neck, knee, shoulder, and hand limitations.

Mops made with accessibility in mind and ergonomic, low stress design.

Motorized carts provide assistance for individuals with shoulder, neck, back, and upper and lower extremity impairments who have difficulty pushing and/or pulling. Several options are available to eliminate excessive pushing and pulling.

Moving, carrying, or transferring items around an office or retail space can be difficult for individuals with certain impairment, such as back or arm impairments that limit motor movement. Multi-purpose carts can be used to transport items and are available in a wide range of sizes with various features.

An on-screen keyboard, sometimes called a keyboard emulator, is a software program that displays a virtual keyboard on a computer screen. Users with can then "type" data using an alternative input device. The two most recent versions of Windows come with an on-screen keyboard option, which has basic capabilities. Directions vary with the type of operating system (OS). For information on how to activate your on-screen keyboard, visit the OS homepage.

One-hand syringes can assist those working in healthcare occupations who are not able to use both hands to administer injections.

One-handed software uses an ALTERNATE keyboard layout called the Dvorak system, (a keyboard layout that differs from "traditional keyboards") but reconfigures the keys for optimal one-handed use.

One handed keyboards assist individuals who must enter data into a computer but have no or limited use of one hand. Keyboards can be configured to be used by either the left or the right hand. Due to the placement of the keys, individuals that may benefit from using a one handed keyboard may need some time to learn how to type in a different way.

Page turners turn the pages of a book with different mechanisms, such as sip-n-puff activation. These devices help individuals with quadriplegia, ALS, cumulative trauma disorders, or other conditions impairing grasping abilities

A variety of products are available to assist health care professionals with lifting, moving, and transferring patients. Portable, ceiling mounted, sling, bedside, and heavy duty options are available.

A personal on-site paging device transmits a signal from the base transmitter to a receiver (the pager) through vibration and/or a numerical code display. These are local paging systems that work within a specified area.

Planting aids assist individuals with creating rows, transplanting plants, seeding, and plowing.

Individuals with certain limitations may find it difficult to grasp items from hard to reach places, such as a shelf or the floor. Reachers can extend to various lengths and can grasp items for those with limited reach or strength.

A scribe or notetaker writes or types information that is communicated to him by another person. A scribe does not interpret information or perform essential job functions.

Supports that can be placed between the telephone and shoulder when headsets cannot be used. These rests, when used effectively, allow for one to maintain their neck in a neutral (straight) posture and shoulder relaxed (not shrugged).

Individuals with physical, cognitive, sensory, and learning impairments may have difficulty accessing computers. Traditionally, a computer user accesses a computer with a standard point and click mouse and a QWERTY keyboard (named for the top left-hand side of the rows). The computer takes the information that is inputted and processes it. Individuals with physical, sensory, or developmental limitations may not be able to use these standard input devices effectively and may benefit from using speech recognition. Standard computer input devices are keyboards made for typists who use two hands and ten fingers; speech recognition software is made for computer users with a variety of limitations, including individuals with no hand or finger movement.

Steering grips assist individuals with fine motor limitations in gripping and turning steering wheels.

A switch is plugged into the computer just as any other computer input devices. Switches give full access to the standard keyboard and mouse or on-screen keyboard with one click. Graphics, symbols, and alphanumeric characters may also be used by certain software to allow the user to scan functions and activate computer processes with a click of the switch.

Ten keypads are separated from a keyboard and give the numeric layout of a standard desktop keyboard or ten key. These movable keypads are small and can be used left or right handed on your desktop or laptop computer.

A tongue mouse, in combination with an on screen keyboard can allow an individual with limitied limb movement and dexterity to operate a computer.

Tool balancers are devices engineered to offset tool weights. Springs or other tensioning devices are attached to tools, which counters the weight of the tools. Tool balancers are often used with in-line tools. Individuals with neck, back, shoulder, and cumulative trauma disorders to the upper extremities may benefit from tool balancers.

Typing and keyboarding can be difficult for individuals with fine motor limitations or limited dexterity in their hands. Products are available that assist individuals with using a keyboard and depressing the keys.

Equipment designed to use vacuum suction cup lifting to hold and relocate heavy weights while preventing potential damage to the material.

Equipment designed to perform the lifting, holding, and relocating of small weights while preventing potential damage to the material.

Word prediction software displays a list of words that typically follow the word just entered. Word completion software displays sample words after someone starts typing part of a word. Macro software allows users to complete several steps of a task in a few programmed keystrokes. Many software programs contain all of these options.

Writing aids are products designed to help individuals with limited hand strengths perform writing tasks. Writing aids can transfer the fine motor pinch grip, usually used to write, to gross motor arm movements. A low tech solution is to push a pencil though a Styrofoam ball and use gross motor movements to write. Individuals with cumulative trauma disorders to the upper extremities or individuals with other impairments such as arthritis or quadriplegia benefit from these aids.