Keyboard for the visually-impaired?

[Scarlet Pimple]

I have been diagnosed with "open angle" Glaucoma after a two year stint without an eye check-up.

which was a very foolish thing to have allowed at my age. So we live and learn.!

Had I gone once per year since I was 40 years old , as STRONGLY ADVISED, then it could have been picked up with the eye machines that they use nowadays--e.g. peripheral vision checker. Eye pressure checker (the Goldman test), etc.

Bottom line..I am now blind in one eye as far as reading and driving is concerned and can only see vague shapes and colour; and hanging on with the other.

Remedy :-none for the blindness since it is progressive and irreparable. Existing eysight can possibly be retained and deterioration controlled.

The disease can be controlled very successfully if detected early enough and this is primarily done by the use of one drop of Travatan Z (others are used to but this is a good one) placed in each eye once per day, usually just before bedtime. This keeps the eye drains open and the flow of fluid into and out of the eye circulating as it should and the drains clear so that the pressure in the eyball does not rise to too high levels. If it does, the optic nerve deteriorates and dies and ...you know the rest.

Eye surgery is used too-I received a laser bolt into each of my eyes to open up a new drain in each to prevent the other type of Glaucoma , "Closed Angle" version, developing. This is a very severe and miserable condition that comes on without warning and has horrible side-effectesincluding flashes, and severe headaches, sickness etc.

If any one wants to communicate with me on this subject please feel free to do so by P.M.> I have done a bit of research on it . But there is also reams of information online for those affected. Great strides are being made in research for this condition which , in Canada at least ,is the second most prevalent disease leading to loss of vision after Macular Degeneration.

COMPUTER_WISE, TECHNICALLY speaking I am having a lot of trouble in typing and I was wondering if anyone knows of a make of keyboard for visually impaired persons which I could get my hands on. My typing speed is quite high but the keys are too close together for me and the mistakes I make are very numerous and are sometime incredible and often laughable. But getting through even a simple post like this requires a lot of care and it is exhausting, with great concentration being required, so headaches result which is normal for me now.

Larger keys and greater spacing is needed for me now.--can you advise please.

Thank you

Scarlet

[CaleyD]

Scarlet, I've not long since purchased a Keys-U-See Keyboard for a family member. They tried both the white keys with black letters and the yellow with black and found the yellow with black made it easier for them.

What's more, being a little vain and not wanting to admit they have eye problems they get away with saying they bought it just to be different/funky.

Details on - http://www.keyconnection.com/Public/produc...rgeprintkb.aspx

I got the one I purchased from Ebay for about ?25.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Caley D

Thank you very much for this reference and for putting up the illustration which is very helpful.

That keyboard seems to have much larger letters and I understand from investigating that the yellow on black is helpful to the vision.

So I am on to it this morning and have also been advised that there is a similar one with not just larger letters but wider keys too--they are 3/4" --which may be the root of my problem since I have been hitting far too many "two-key" strokes at one time.

Anyway I will advise on here what the outcome is eventually. Your recommendation appears to cost about $41 + taxes and the other make ,with the wider keys , seems to be about $90 but the extra investment will no doubt be worth considering since quality costs more unfortunately.

That's quite a lot for a keyboard but for me it's no longer a question of turning my nose up at something like this based on the cost but taking the view "any port in a storm. As I have found out from bitter experience your vision may be taken for granted when one is young but it is very precious and once lost its's a "life-changing" experience.

Cheers , Scarlet.

[MrsICTFC]

http://onlineshop.rnib.org.uk/browse.asp?n...mp;it=1&l=3

There seems to be a few here x

[Scotty]

Canadian equivalent here:

http://webstore.cnib.ca/SearchByKeyword.aspx?word=keyboard

The CNIB seem to offer a keyboard from "KeysUsee" - which also redistributes to dealers around Canada (including one company that has an office in your neck of the woods): http://www.aroga.com/lv_lp_keyboards.asp

[Scarlet Pimple]

Thank you very much.

Scotty I had already 'phoned Aroga. They want $119 plus taxes for the Vision 2 keyboard and I can go over to their warehouse and pick it up in Vancouver. They say that if I don't find it suitable then I can take it back .This is a yellow black combination which I fancy and the keys are 1" when I would have probably preferred 3/4 inch.Why? Because i read somewhere that the one inchers cut down on the speed of typing. However I am willing to try anything once.

The CNIB has a site very similar to their site in the U.K. They also seem to fall over backwards to service and please the client and I am sure that the cost of S & H will be less from Toronto or Wherever. Their information is explicit and comprehensive and thier website is great.

Anyway I will follow up both again and see what is best value for monery. Right now the KINDER one looks good for me . Basic, no frills, coloured; suitable for teaching children to type. Right up my street. Smile. AND a lot cheaper.Its dimensions are larger also which would suit me since I have wide shoulders and I have to hunch them up to put my hands close together on the keyboard (wink.)

Heh! If it does the job and feels comfortable who cares about anything else.

You guys are great --all these links were first class research tools.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Mrs ICTFC-thanks for that excellent link; I am working on it.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Purchasing any of these keyboards is costly.At an average of $24 for postage from the U.S. the overall cost is well over $100.

I opted to purchase the Kinderboard from Chester Creek with one inch keys, from AROGA in Vancouver. They have offices in Montreal and Toronto and Edmonton I believe.

I had a serious problem as soon as I connected it to my computer--pop-ups offering advice, blank screen, minimising of screen to taskbar, freezing cursor etc. Then the computer crashed (wait for it) into Standby. I managed to get the email text, that I was typing, back by restarting the computer--go figure.

So I took it back to Aroga in Vancouver and , because I had recycled the cardboard box in which it came, the sister of the owner tried to refuse to refund my money despite assurances from her earlier that I could take it back within 30 days for a full refund. I pointed out that the board must be faulty and she would have to send it back to Chester Creek anyway and eventualluy she gave in.But she charged me $10 for a restocking fee. Strange that since she had to send it back and would or could not resell it as it stood!!. I was NOT happy at this type of approach to doing business. This board is not for everyone since, apart from anything else, it is difficult to type fast on it and I found that even solid, slow typing does not always result in the letters appearing in the text.

The Vision Board 11 has the same formatting or platform as the Kinderboard so trying that one would also probably be no better.

And, at $122 it is very high priced . So I am now back to the standard keyboard and everything is now stable again.

These boards are suitable for young children or for older people with very poor vision who may want to just type slowly for the odd email etc but not suitable for fast typing

and , despite the fact that it is supposed to be a "Plug and Play" connection, clearly it is not suitable for all systems or all computers. Overall, a 4 out of ten .