Dyspraxia and Mouse Control

[topsyandturvy]

Well, these things are so obvious once pointed out to you, but my son has been struggling a lot with mouse control lately and it is becoming frustrating for him.

Never occurred to me to look for a more suitable mouse until this was suggested to me {{dim emoticon}}.

So does anyone know of anything suitable or that has worked for them.

DS 12 so medium to small adult sized hands. Must have a scroll wheel. Should preferably be conventional type so rest of family can use the same device?

I have tried fiddling with the settings, snap to clickables is now ON, pointer accuracy enhancement is now OFF (I think that means you can click when you have got it in nearly the right place), speed is a little slower (driving me insane but maybe I will get used to it).

But is there any other way to make control of the mouse easier for the dyspraxic person?

Anyone used a tablet, like a glorified touchpad on a laptop I suppose, does this help and if so how?

Thanks

Laptop touch mouse (the one where you just move your finger) or a touch screen have proved to he the best solutions for my dyspraxic DC's.

They don't get in with traditional mouses at all!

Des he have an OT? Or do school have an IT specialist in the LA? Both should have a number of ideas that will allow him to try things out until he finds the right solution... (We have no idea how dd2 uses a mouse - but she does). For school she does actually use an iPad with an actual keyboard now.

They don't have to use more than one finger on the page at a time so it's not so much to concentrate on. I dyspraxic myself.

I'm typing this with one finger on an iPhone. Hurts my joints less (arthritis) but is also easier to type as I can just look at one finger and think about one finger rather than my whole hand.

I can touch type, but found using a mouse uncomfortable and it slowed me down lots. On a tablet or iPhone, I can just touch the screen with one finger to select something, and touch it again to copy, then touch it again to paste it.

Also, it's taken me nearly a year to be able to do the two finger 'spread' thing to enlarge on the iPhone. Using a whole hand on a proper mouse is even harder!

Ive worked with a lot of kids with dyspraxia and other issues such as CP where they need to access a screen using a mouse.
Firstly, you need a suitable mouse. You can get mini ones which are good for small kids. Also lots of variations such as roller balls and so on but if possible we like to get them using a regular mouse. These two companies are great and they will give you advice on the phone. Russell
of Therapy Box is fantastically knowledgeable and a lovely guy. He is also severeyl physically disables himself so have huge personal experience.

Therapy Box

Inclusive Technology

You also must not underestimate practice. Build mouse practice in every day.

Priory Woods school has a fantastic free site containing scores of games to practice mouse skills.

You could of course wait for weeks for an NHS OT referral......