What adaptations can help someone with a spinal cord injury use a computer and phone?

The first thing I’m looking at when a someone wants to be able to use a computer or a phone is what surface is that phone or computer sitting on? Do they need a lap tray on their wheelchair that their computer or phone can sit on? In terms of a phone, do they need some sort of phone holder that they can put on their hand and then the phone attaches to? And once we figure out how the device is held, how is that person going to access it? Can they use voice commands to be able to prompt everything in their phone? Do they need a stylus that has a special holder for them to be able to touch the screen? Is it just a matter of putting the computer or the phone in a spot that they can use the muscle function they have in order to touch the screen. We’re looking at all sorts of different things, fortunately in our vastly growing era of technology, there are hundreds and hundreds of options that we can look at for people. Another piece of equipment is “eye-gaze technology” where the computer tracks a person’s eye as they move around the screen to be able to select different things. I just saw that there’s a gyroscope mouse where a sensor is mounted on a person wherever they can move and they can move their shoulder, or their hand or their head, and the mouse moves along the screen. The world of technology is constantly advancing; there are new things that are always coming out for people.

So, one of the first things that I talk to my patients about, especially the young ones, you want to get back to using that Smartphone. So putting just a stylus that you can get at any convenience store down the street and a U-cuff can provide the contact you need to operate that Smartphone. And then, you also want to look at where does that phone belong when you’re pushing. So, there’re different mounts you can put on your power or manual chair that make it very accessible to you, and bring it close to your body. There’re also different lap trays that you can mount. What it can do is have a base that slides under your wheelchair cushion and brings it right up to you, so you can work with it in an accessible spot.