Assisting people with multiple disabilities to use computers with multiple mice.

Two adults with severe motor limits tried to move a computer cursor. Each could move only one limb a little.

The team plugged three cheap USB mice into the same laptop. They set each mouse to do one job: left mouse moved the cursor, right mouse handled clicks, third mouse handled double-clicks.

A multiple-baseline design checked if the users could point, click, and keep the skill after the coaches stepped back.

Both adults learned to hit on-screen targets. They kept the skill two weeks later with no extra coaching.

The setup cost under thirty dollars and used the same Windows computer they already owned.

Shih (2011) took the idea further. That study kept the multi-mice plan but added free cursor-capture software. The users finished tasks faster because the pointer snapped to each target.

Shih et al. (2010) swapped the mice for a thumb-poke trackball. Same goal—cheap computer access—but the trackball needed only one USB port and one small hand motion.

These papers do not clash. They build a toolkit: raw multi-mice for the most limited movers, snap-to-target software for users who can handle slightly more motion, and thumb-ball for clients with reliable thumb strength.

You can open computer work to clients who have almost no fine motor skill. Plug in extra mice, assign one job per mouse, and let each limb do what it can. No specialty order, no wait for funding. Try it next session: give the left hand the cursor, the right hand the click, and watch independence grow.