small computer mouse, mouse for small hands

Peripherals for a Wide Variety of Needs
Getting the right components for your computer can make the user experience much more enjoyable. The wrong components and peripherals however can make the experience extremely painful. This is compounded much more so if the user has special needs. Luckily there are companies out there that manufacture specific peripherals for people with special needs. These specialized components help to allow people who would not be able to use a normal computer access and use a computer with as much proficiency as someone with no disadvantages.

There are two key interface components that need to be looked at in order to ensure that a special needs user can use a computer fully. One is the keyboard, the other is the mouse. While it would seem that the keyboard would be the more complicated peripheral because of the numerous amount of keys, in fact the opposite is true. Finding a good small computer mouse that can make the computer fully accessible is much more difficult. The reason for this is because with a keyboard you have many different options. You can find one that simply is laid out specifically so that the user can use it efficiently. You can also substitute a keyboard for voice recognition software. There are keyboards that can be used one handed and even simply one fingered. A small computer mouse though is a completely different story.

Developing a voice recognition mouse is almost impossible, so you therefore have to rely and the movement of the user to move the pointer. For some people this simply is not possible without extreme systems. Quadriplegics for example can use speech software to write very efficiently, but developing a small computer mouse for them is a completely different ballgame. One cannot have a mouse that requires movements from the hand in order to operate. In these cases mice have been developed that the user can move with their mouth. In even more extreme cases mice have been developed that allow the user to move the pointer with their eyes.

Regardless the condition of the user there are work arounds that can give them full access to everything a computer has to offer. These can range from minor adjustments to your everyday standard mouse all the way up to radically rethinking the way the device operates. One example of a small change to the equipment that makes it accessible to a whole new group of people are mice specifically designed for children. A normal mouse is very large and clunky in the hands of anyone who is not an adult. In these cases a special small computer mouse is a perfect solution. While an adult may find the mouse to be uncomfortable and definitely not easy to use, a child would pick it up and find it fits their hand perfectly. To see it from the child’s perspective imagine using a mouse that was five or six times the size of your current one. Seems a bit idiotic would you not say? The reality is though that is how a “normal” mouse is to a small child.

As you can see specific peripherals have a wide range of not only needs that they fulfill, but also can be found in a wide variety of forms that will address the needs of the user as well.