Has anyone got any experience of BIGtrack???

[DingleAlltheWay]

In dd's nursery the other day I asked about the computer mouse they were using. It turns out to be a \link{http://inclusive.co.uk/catalog/bigtrack.shtml\BIGtrack}
but it's £55! Is this overkill?
The school had a spare one and have let dd use it at home to see how she gets on with it and I must admit it seems far easier having the buttons completely seperate from the ball control thingie! sorry for the lack of technical jargon.
If I order it in December, I think we can get freebie "switch it" xmas software, but again I don't really know what that's like and although it seems a good offer, will it be suitable and worth the money?
If antone has got any knowledge, please help!
Thanks. Dingle.

Switch it stuff is usually good- we have switch it home which ds1 loves. I bought a big trackball a while ago- and its great. DS1 can now use a mouse - but he needed the large trackball stage and he still uses it a lot at home. BTW if you are ordering from Inclusive Technology ask them about thier returns - when I wasn't sure whether to buy intellikeys they said they allow people to return equipment within 6 weeks - providing its in perfect condition- you could probably return the trackball if it isn't suitable.

Remember to ask for VAT exemption as well if its applicable.

You must have read my mind Jimjams! I know some things you can get VAT free but didn't really know anymore! That price is before postage & VAT I think. It seems a lot but if it's going to help dd, than it's worth it. I spent about an hour on here with her yesterday afternoon and she absolutely adored it. Got so excited when Reader Rabbit came on! and by the end of the "session" she only pressed the button when I asked her to & her "ball control"(he he he) had improved beyond belief!

I have checked the standard BIGtrack isn't exempt from VAT, so it will cost nearly £70 in total! If I wanted to pay the extra and get the £79 one with extra sockets for switches(!!??) I would get that VAT free.

I've got a list of software and hardware recommended by parents of children with ASD. I can send it to you if you CAT me. There's also Big Keys which is good, I sometimes use it to post on MN from upstairs, that is when my cap letters and typing gets worse than ever as the keys are limited (and big of course!)

Thanks Davros, I'll CAT you.
I have asked for the Inclusive Tech catalogue to be sent to us. I'll have another look to see what else is on offer.
I've seen quite a lot of "specialised" software but I feel torn between buying that or just something fairly age appropriate off the shelf.
I have another mouse I can try, so I'll spend some time on here this afternoon with dd and Reader Rabbit!See how she gets on with that, may have to visit PC World at the weekend!

Dingle, in the meantime you probably know this, but you can slow down the speed of the cursor. I had no idea that this was possible but it really helped when I was teaching ds to use a computer (he doesn't have special needs, just wasn't coordinated). It meant he could really see what he was doing and have time to respond IYSWIM.

Thanks TinselTamum, I'd not thought of that, might be worth a try. Can't remember how to do it either, I'll have a look and might come back for some help later.{blush]Her main problem is that she keeps on pressing the buttons as she is moving the mouse.

Oh I see, this won't help much then. If you want to try, you go to control panel -> mouse -> pointer options and then under "motion" there's an option to select pointer speed. (That's taken me quite a while to find, I'm not a whizzkid in disguise :o)

hi. I'm new to mumsnet (see post below about speech and language disordered 5 yr old). Hope it's ok to jump in. My son has some problems with fine motor skills and we have a microsoft easyball which he operates really well. It came with a game called Freddie Fish which he loves. Can't remember the price but maybe worth a look?

Ta, Tamum! I'll try after lunch. I'm obviously not a whizzkid in disguise either.

Mum38, welcome, and jump away! I've tried a quick search but could find much. Will have another look to see if it may be suitable. My dd has DS and is just 3. She is a very "visual" learner and really seems to enjoy the time she has on the PC. She has just started mainstream nursery and she uses the computer there too! I thought it might be another, more fun, way to help her learn!
Thanks.

thanks for the welcome DingleAlltheWay. We got the easyball when our son was 3 -its a big yellow ball with one big blue button for clicking. I think we got it from PC world but it was 2 years ago so maybe they don't make them anymore! My ds (does that mean son?) is a very visual learner too. The Jump Ahead toddler cd (from Knowledge Adventure)is a good first cd -lots of fun activities. Or son loves the bubble page where you wipe the bubbles off with mouse and find an animal. Some fun music and educational stuff too.

You can also make the cursor much bigger by going through control panel. While you're waiting for a fancy mouse, try putting a piece of velcro on the left click, mind you that's if you want clicking, you probably don't want it at all....

Davros, tried to CAT you but it wouldn't let me! Kept on coming up with Davros unknown, tried Davrosthesnowman,,,,,just noticed you are the ...snowwoman!!! Shall I try again?

Yes, sorry about that. I changed it the other day but didn't point it out.