Mobility, Flexibility, and Body Structure Disabilities

• Designing for users with physical or motor disabilities (PDF, 47 KB)
• Designing for users with physical or motor disabilities (HTML)

Manual Dexterity/Fine Motor Control

Definition:

Fine motor skills are the intricate and detailed movements of the hand and wrist needed to manipulate, control and use objects, produce neat, legible handwriting, and dress independently. Disability may be temporary, recurring, or permanent.

Characteristics:

Fine motor control is a person’s ability to use precision, coordination, dexterity, strength, control endurance and sensory awareness. Some examples include

• Difficulty in manipulating or griping small objects or tools, such as a pencil, with one or both hands
• Difficulty writing small consistent letters
• Difficulty using a keyboard,
• Inability to do up buttons or zippers (strength)
• Lack of sensory feedback like touch and pressure

Ambulation

Definition:

Ambulation is defined as the ability to walk from place to place independently with or without an assistive device.

Characteristics:

Impairments to a person’s ability to walk may be caused by congenital conditions, disease, or injury, such as cerebral palsy, neuromuscular disorders, amputation, arthritis, and back injuries.

Muscle Fatigue

Definition:

Muscle fatigue is a common non-specific symptom experienced by many people and is associated with many health conditions. It is often defined as an overwhelming sense of tiredness, lack of energy and feeling of exhaustion, and it relates to a difficulty in performing voluntary tasks.

Characteristics:

Muscle fatigue can occur anywhere on the body. The first symptom is usually muscle weakness. Other sign and symptoms include soreness, localized pain, shortness of breath, muscle twitching, shaking, a weak grip, muscle cramps.

Body Size or Shape

Definition:

There are different types of disorders that can impact a person's physical stature, proportions, or shape, resulting in disabilities related to their body size or shape. Examples include acromegaly, dwarfism, rheumatoid arthritis, and obesity.

Characteristics:

Characteristics depend on the cause of disability. Orthopedic conditions, such as arthritis and joint mobility, are often associated with the underlying cause. Other examples of co-occurring conditions include muscle weakness and fatigue, hearing loss, vision loss, cardiopulmonary disorders, and diabetes.

Adaptive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies

Here are some commonly used products and strategies:

• Adaptive keyboards (short, split, curved, one-handed, numeric pad, vertical, expanded keyboard with raised sections between keys)
• Voice control
• Eye tracking
• Voice recognition software (Dragon Naturally Speaking Pro)
• Speech-to-text software (Dragon Medical Practice)
• Bubble and area cursors
• Customizable keyboard
• Adaptive notepads with word prediction and text-to-speech features
• Alternative pointing devices
• Oversized mouse or trackball
• Switch devices
• Mouth stick
• Head wand
• Single-switch access
• Sip and puff switch
• Adjustable position displays
• Timing controls
• Wheelchair
• Ergonomic / universal design of consumer products
• Worksafe SAM