A finger-pressing position detector for assisting people with developmental disabilities to control their environmental stimulation through fine motor activities with a standard keyboard.
A free keyboard add-on turns finger presses into reliable switches so clients with developmental disabilities can run their own reinforcement.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team added free software to a normal keyboard. The program watched where fingers pressed.
Two adults with developmental delay joined. The study used an ABAB design. Pressing lit up music or videos.
No new hardware was bought. Any clinic or home computer could run the tool.
What they found
Both people quickly learned to press keys with their fingertips. Presses went up when the program was on.
When the program paused, pressing dropped. It rose again when the program returned. Fine-motor control improved.
How this fits with other research
Shih et al. (2010) first used a $30 air mouse to catch arm swings for the same reward. The finger press study keeps the goal but swaps big limb movement for tiny finger movement.
Shih et al. (2010) also turned a trackball into a thumb-poke detector. Both papers show you can recycle everyday office gear into precise switches instead of buying costly assistive devices.
Emerson et al. (2007) used head-control microswitches. The keyboard study moves the sensor site from head to hand, giving clients who can lift a finger but not hold up their head a new way to work.
Why it matters
You can download the finger detector tonight. Plug in any USB keyboard and give clients instant control of songs, games, or videos. No funding request, no wait for delivery. Try it as a first step before ordering pricey adaptive switches.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study used a standard keyboard with a newly developed finger-pressing position detection program (FPPDP), i.e. a new software program, which turns a standard keyboard into a finger-pressing position detector, to evaluate whether two people with developmental disabilities would be able to actively perform fine motor activities to control their preferred environmental stimulation. An ABAB design was adopted in this study. The data showed that both participants' target responses (i.e. fine motor activities) significantly increased (i.e. they performed more fine motor activities to activate the environmental stimulation) during the intervention phases. The practical and developmental implications of the findings are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.03.011