Hi, I'm looking for a keyboard that a hospital patient can use. Is
there such a thing as an alphabetical keyboard, not the standard
layout? Motor skills are minimal.......

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 25 Jan 2004 21:09 PST

Please take a look at the IntelliKeys Alternative Keyboard. This
keyboard (which comes with several overlays, two of which are
alphabetical) is particularly well-suited to the needs of a person
whose motor skills and/or vision are impaired:

http://www.intellitools.com/products/IntelliKeys/home.htm

If IntelliKeys (which costs $395) is too expensive, here is a very
reasonably priced alphabetical keyboard:

http://www.abckeyboard.com/

If either of these products sounds suitable, I'll be glad to gather
more information and post an answer to your question.

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Clarification of Question by airmech-ga on 26 Jan 2004 04:48 PST

Hi, thank you for the quick reply. However, I thought we'd be able to
put a PC in the hospital room, but was just informed it's not
possible. Is there a standalone unit that could be placed on a
hospital tray table?

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 26 Jan 2004 11:29 PST

Can you clarify what you mean by "standalone unit"? Are you needing
something that will produce a printout? Will it need to be
battery-powered? Some hospitals have rules against plugging
non-hospital equipment into electrical outlets.

Sorry about all the questions. I'm sure I can find something that will
meet your needs, but first I want to have a clear understanding of
what I'm looking for.

Several years ago, a progressive neurological illness left my brother
unable to speak. He was too spastic to use a computer keyboard, but we
found a battery-powered, portable device which, in a digitized voice,
"spoke" each letter of the alphabet when the patient touched large
buttons laid out in alphabetical order on a square panel. This enabled
my brother to communicate with his medical team and his family. As he
tapped out his message, letter by letter, someone would write it down.
The audible component of this was very useful, since it enabled the
person who was transcribing to be somewhere other than hovering near
the device, and my brother could be certain that he'd hit the correct
letter, even though he couldn't see very well. Would something like
this be appropriate for you?

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 26 Jan 2004 15:58 PST

Here are two standalone products that you might want to consider:

Dialect:

http://www.zygo-usa.com/dialect.html

LightWRITER:

http://www.zygo-usa.com/lighwrts.htm

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Clarification of Question by airmech-ga on 27 Jan 2004 13:40 PST

Hi pinkfreud......Yes, something like the unit you got for your
brother might be just the ticket. It's for my mother. She had brain
surgery in August and things went bad. A 2 hr surgery took 8 hrs, then
she had to be rushed back in with excessive cranial swelling. She was
in a coma for 3 months, and is now in rehab with only limited motor
skills. She understands everything, is fully aware, but can't
communicate. She has a trach, so speech is out, and shes unable to
write anything. I was hoping a typewriter device of some sort would
help, I know she's extremely frustrated not being able to make anyone
understand. Thank you again for your help.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 27 Jan 2004 14:08 PST

This page describes several communication devices:

http://www.alsaohio.org/patient/devices.html

Here is an interesting low-tech method of communication:

http://www.cini.org/eyelink.html

Speaking of low-tech: have you considered a homemade letter board?
It's simple to take a piece of poster board and make a grid displaying
the letters of the alphabet. The patient can then point with her
finger (or with some sort of stylus) at the letters, spelling out
words. My experience with my brother taught me that, once the first
few letters of a word are spelled, it is usually easy to guess what
word is being expressed. You'd be amazed at how rapidly it's possible
to communicate, once the system of spelling words is well established.

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Clarification of Question by airmech-ga on 28 Jan 2004 05:06 PST

pinkfreud, thank you very much for your help! I think I'll order an
Eyelink sheet. That looks like it will work! You've been extremely
helpful, I really think this will do the trick. Thanks
again.............

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 28 Jan 2004 11:47 PST

May I post the material about the Eyelink as the answer to your
question, or are you needing further assistance?

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Clarification of Question by airmech-ga on 28 Jan 2004 13:32 PST

Yes, you can post Eyelink as the answer. It might be helpful to
qualify the answer as being financially feasible for more people. I
just couldn't come up with $1000's for a unit. Hopefully it will work.
I'm not sure how to exit this format, so I posted here. I didn't want
to cancel the question and possibly lose you. Thank you again so
much.......Bob

Thank you for accepting as your answer the EyeLink, a low-tech and
affordable communication aid.

"The EyeLink is a rapid, low tech means of face-to-face communication
for those who are unable to use their hands to directly point to
letters on an alphabet board.

The EyeLink can be used in two different modes - direct selection
through eye movement or scanning.  Both modes require the assistance
of a communication partner."

Communication Independence for the Neurologically Impaired 
http://www.cini.org/eyelink.html

I was made aware of the EyeLink by a friend who had a relative with
ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). My friend says that the EyeLink worked
quite well for him, although it took a few hours of experimenting to
learn how to use it efficiently.

As you have noted, high-tech communication aids can be very expensive.
In some cases, Medicare may provide assistance, if a long-term need
exists. Advice may often be obtained through local support groups for
ALS and other neurological conditions.

I'm glad to have been able to help! Please let me know if there's
anything more I can do for you.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

I was very pleased with pinkfreud's assistance. All answers were
applicable, and effort was made to pinpoint exactly what I was looking
for. Exceptional quality research. Thanks again.....

Thank you very much for the five-star rating and the generous tip!

~pinkfreud