[laptop-accessibility] neophyte with an interest in accessibility forold folks

[Paula Gordon]

Hi, Donna,
We're neighbors! I'm in Wilmington, DE.
It's good to know because there's a chance we might be in the same reception
area once in a while, and can try to connect via mesh networking. I have a
friend in NYC who purchased an XO, and another friend here in northern DE is
looking into it.

I see that there are "grassroots communities" forming in various places --
perhaps we could be on the lookout for other users in this area and start a
Delaware Valley (or Philly metro area) community.

Perhaps I misstated my father's disability. He can still eat on his own,
turn pages, use the TV remote. I should have said he has limitations in
range of motion. That is, he can't lift his outstretched arms above his
shoulders, and motion away from his body is limited as well.

Have fun!
Paula

Paula Gordon
Wilmington, DE
www.dbaPlanB.com

-----Original Message-----
From: gabey8 at aol.com [mailto:gabey8 at aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2007 3:57 PM
To: paula at dbaplanb.com; accessibility at lists.laptop.org
Subject: Re: [laptop-accessibility] neophyte with an interest in
accessibility forold folks


I just got my XO last night. The keys on the keyboard are small, as they're
designed for children's hands. That might make the XO keyboard hard to use
for a person with dexterity issues.

However, there are USB keyboards that probably could be attached to the XO
that he would be able to use instead. I've even seen things like keyboards
with large print on the keys, for low-vision users.

Where are you located? You might be able to hook up with some of the people
who've already received their XOs, and experiment with an XO in person.

I'm in Philadelphia, PA, btw. :)

Donna



----
Visit http://gabey8.blogspot.com today. :-)




-----Original Message-----
From: Paula Gordon <dbaPlanB at dca.net>
To: accessibility at lists.laptop.org
Sent: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:45 pm
Subject: [laptop-accessibility] neophyte with an interest in accessibility
for old folks


Greetings,
I just ordered an XO this evening (G1G1), and started looking around this
site and the support wiki. I'm a layman in terms of computers and
networking, and have no formal education or experience with the disabled. My
informal experience is that I care for my elderly parents and have been
educating myself online about mental decline and physical accessibility
issues and have subsequently done quite a few adaptations in their home.

My big idea for the XO is to give my father access to the Internet. He's 81,
mobility impaired, has decreased manual dexterity and some short-term memory
loss. His cognitive function is still good, though, so I am hoping that he
will be able to operate a laptop that has intuitive controls even if he's
not able to remember how it works. Essentially, he'll have to figure out how
to use it each time, until the knowledge seeps into his long-term memory. He
has been using computers for years, at work and at home since the early
1980s, but he hasn't been able to sit at a desk or follow multistep command
paths for about 10 years.

Is this an area of interest for developers and users here? Using the XO
laptop to improve quality of life for the elderly population? If so, and if
there's anything specific you'd like me to keep track of, please let me
know. I'll be learning how to use the laptop along with him.

Now I'll go back to lurking.
Regards,
Paula

Paula Gordon
Wilmington, DE


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