I have decided to provide information on commercially available
products which I am using or have used that make life a lot easier for me. Some of these are inexpensive and some more costly, but all have given me more control over my environment and improved my quality of life. The information here only represents my opinions and personal evaluation and I am receiving no compensation for passing it on. All have held up well to frequent abuse. The products recommended are in no special order and the price is the lowest I could find. The lowest prices can usually be found surfing the web.
You can now order directly from this website. The site has a lot of products not specifically for disabled but that can be very helpful. I have been buying from it for many years. Many of the tools mentioned in the Tool Kit were purchased from this catolog. The products are well made, reasonably priced and shipped free.
WIRELESS REMOTE CONTROL SWITCH DEVICE comes with 5 plug-in adapters allowing you to turn on or off lights or appliances from one place in your house. ($40)
In order to get the best deals on the following products you should shop on-line:
The Kindle DX I had a problem reading. In order to see the print clearly the book must be a certain distance from my face, and that is very difficult for me because of the weight of the book, my lack of grip and the cumbersome nature of the whole process. I have been very frustrated by my inability to read so have tried magnifying pages and a lot of other different things but with little luck. There is a product on the market now called a Kindle DX. It is a piece of high tech electronic gear. It is about the size of a piece of paper (10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"). Its weight is minimal, it is only about a third of an inch thick and it will hold 3500 books which you can download off the Internet for about $10 each. Books download in less than 60 seconds. The Kindle allows me to control the size of the print and it controls the contrast between the print and the background. You can have Kindle DX read the book to you either through headphones or outloud. The Kindle is very user friendly. Last week I received my Kindle and it is wonderful. I have already read 4 books. You can read all about the Kindle DX at Amazon. (DX $489)
UBS PORT HASPEL 4 PORT WEB HUB connects to the back of your computer. A 3 foot long cord on a reel allows you to place the plug in device anywhere you want it. There are four UBS ports located around a 4” circular hub. If your dexterity is limited when you go to connect something like a flash drive at least one port is usually facing the right way. ($10)
LOGITECH TRACKMAN MARBLE (Computer Mouse) The mouse ball is on the top as opposed to the bottom. The entire device stays in one place and you just manipulate the ball. It can be setup for right or left-handed people. You can choose what function you want the easily accessible button to perform. Also it enables you to control the speed of the pointer. ($30)
TEK PARTNER The largest universal remote available today allows you to operate a television, VCR, DVD players, satellite and/or cable. The Tek Partner can be handheld, placed on a table, the arm of a chair or put on your thigh. I have attached a handle on it and taped the battery cover closed so the batteries will not come out if I drop it. It is very durable. ($40)
iPOD TOUCH allows individuals with very limited dexterity and strength to have at their finger tips (or as in my case knuckle tip) a lot of music and full length movies. The iPod seems to with stand the frequent use it gets. My iPod is made more user friendly by a handle on it. I have over 31 hours of music and several full length movies arranged so I can select what I want to listen to or watch. I often wake up in the middle of the night and find the iPod very helpful. iPod Touch ($250) iPod Nano ($150)
DRAGON NATURALLY SPEAKING is a computer program that converts spoken word into print word. This entire website was created using the Dragon Naturally Speaking program. It is rated and advertised as the best voice to text program available today. Not only will Dragon allow you to write e-mails, documents and instant messages using just the spoken word, but it will also allow you to surf the Internet with just your voice. I have been using Dragon for over 10 years now. As I write this I am waiting for delivery of the newest version Dragon Naturally Speaking 10. Several versions are available including Standard, Preferred, Professional, Medical and Legal. Dragon is also available in a number of foreign languages. Dragon works with most desktop applications including Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, AOL, Firefox and Mozilla. Dragon does however, have some problems. It claims to be 99% accurate but I have never found this to be true. The speed that is promised also falls short. Hopefully these will be corrected in the new version. (Standard $89) (Prefered $139)
