Assistive Technology

Phone Control

For mobile devices try a phone mount that’s similar to a car cell phone mount with a flexible arm. You can also get a phone mount specially designed for wheelchairs.

Purchase mouth stylus pens, which currently only have much of a market on Etsy. They mostly consist of a wand that varies from 12” to 18". The attached mouthpiece is fitted with either soft plastic stick tips or sleeves that can be replaced as they wear out. Make your own mouth piece by super-gluing one two-inch piece of plastic popsicle stick horizontally across the top of a stylus pen and adding a two-inch-long piece vertically on each side, for biting down on. Stabilize with duct tape after pen dries. If you get the magnetic pens, you can glue a small magnet to the phone or tablet holder for an easy way to hang your pen up.

You can get car cell phone holders with goosenecks for under $20 but we recommend sturdy phone and tablet holders specifically designed for people with disabilities that withstand mouth stylus typing and wheelchair romping.

RAM offers entire kits or individual components. Check out the RAM® X-Grip® Large Phone Mount with RAM® Tough-Claw™ Small Clamp.

The MOGO Modular Plastic arm also has major adjusting capabilities. It’s flexible, bendable, and the arm is made of modular hose: a series of plastic beads which can bend independently and be popped apart to create a customized support arm.

The Daessy Rigid Mount can be customized to create different lengths and shapes of the tubes to adapt to any wheelchair.

The LEVO G2 Deluxe Tablet Stand is a tablet floor stand for reading in bed, sitting, reclining or standing. Its heavy, sturdy base keeps your device from toppling over.

Control your phone with voice using Siri, Bixby, and Google Voice Access.

For android phone users download or update the Google App. Download Voice Access from Google Play. In the Settings under Accessibility, select Voice Access. An interactive tutorial teaches you how Voice Access works.

You can find the full list of possible commands by saying “What can I Say” or “Show all commands”. When you say “Show grid” all on-screen elements are assigned a number. Saying the associated number works like a finger tap. In Chrome you can say “Scroll down/up” or “Swipe left/right”. You can make calls and send text messages using voice.

Bixby for Samsung is a mixture of a personal assistant you can ask questions and command to set reminders, and an automation tool you can instruct to open apps, tap on buttons and enter text. Open the Bixby home feed and tap on the menu button in the top-right corner followed by Voice Apps and Services. Scroll through the list of apps Bixby currently supports, then tap on one to open its respective list. Start with basic commands such as, “open Gmail” and then progress to commands such as, "Show the last email from [contact name] that has an attachment.”

Apple phone users can utilize Siri Voice Control on your iPhone or iPad. Go to Settings and select Accessibility, followed by Voice Control. To see a list of available commands for different situations, say “Show me what to say.” You can say, “Show Numbers” to display numeric tags for each item on your screen, similar to Google Voice Access. Edit text within apps by speaking your text followed by your editing commands.

COMPUTER CONTROL

Browse standing desks or have the legs of a typical desk modified so you can roll under in your wheelchair. Some smart desks can remember height positions and be controlled with voice. In bed, try a tray table that rolls under the bed. You can put a laptop or monitor on it, or attach a mobile device holder. You can also position large monitors on a surface near your bed when working from bed.

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Lower level quadriplegics may be able to type with the help of assistive devices like typing splints or fully ergonomic keyboards which require very little movement of the arms and wrists. A typing splint works by stabilizing the wrist and fingers in a neutral, supported position, reducing strain on tendons and muscles. Typing might be slower or require specific techniques due to limited finger control and wrist strength.

Check out the AliMed Clear View Typing Aid

or the Right Handed Slip‑On Keyboard Typing Assistance Tool.

Try Logitech's Split Ergonomic Keyboard or this simple split keyboard by R-Go.

Try different types of adaptive mice too. You might use these together with an onscreen keyboard or a regular keyboard. They protect against wrist or shoulder strain due to dragging or reaching for a mouse constantly. There’s a long bar you manipulate using any of your fingers to move the cursor.

The Trackball mouse consists of a socket-held ball which has sensors to detect its rotation. Some high level quads attach the mouse near the face and roll the ball with their chin.

Control your computer with power wheelchair controls. Integrated Bluetooth can sometimes be used to operate computers and phones, turning the inputs into mouse navigation. This often involves pairing the wheelchair's electronics with the device and using special software or built-in functions to translate drive inputs into cursor movements and clicks.

"I use an Easychair Workstation. It has an adjustable boom arm mounted on a stand with rollers that lets you to use your computer from a bed or wheelchair. I can position my laptop so close so I don't have to constantly lift my elbows and arms to use the keyboard.” Nina, C7

It is often necessary to have an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) or wheelchair technician program these functions into your chair's software.

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Control your PC with voice using speech-to-text programs. You can dictate text and issue commands verbally, which the software translates into action or written words.

Dragon boasts the highest accuracy. It learns your voice, supports custom commands and functions offline. It is a paid software with higher initial setup/learning curve, and can be resource-intensive, but it’s best for speed, accuracy, and customization for long-form dictation or complex workflows. It runs on Windows.

Apple Voice Control (macOS/iOS) is free, built-in, private, and good for navigation and dictation. Less powerful than Dragon for deep customization or specialized vocabulary, it requires local processing, limiting cloud-based enhancements.

Windows Voice Access/Speech Recognition is free, fast and private too, but dictation requires significant user training to achieve high accuracy. Most quadriplegics who use voice access to control a PC prefer Dragon.

Cephable lets you control your computer using a combination of voice, head motion, and facial expressions. It's easy to set up and built to integrate with a wide range of software and hardware setups. The main Cephable application for Windows and Mac, along with its companion mobile app for iOS and Android, are free for personal use.

Controlling a PC with eyes is possible now, too. They use infrared lights and cameras to catch the reflection off of your eyes, determining where on a computer monitor you’re looking. You can scroll around effortlessly and movement of the neck and head isn’t required. Speech generation can also be used by quads with difficulty speaking. Check out the latest from Tobii.

In the past these devices included clunky headgear and were pretty pricey. Now some eye-tracking tech just consists of a slim camera that fits under your computer monitor and sells for less than $200. The cursor moves where the user looks, and a selection is made by dwelling on an item or blinking. Windows 10/11 is recommended.

“I use the Tobii Eye Tracker 4C which I got for about $150. I have used it with Windows 8 through 10 . I have a 30 inch monitor that’s almost too big but works great. I tried my laptop but the on-screen keyboard took up too much of the screen.” Will, C3-6

A few gaming-focused laptops are available with essentially the same eye-tracking hardware integrated into the laptop, such as the Alienware laptop line.

Then there's mouth control. If you have a touchscreen PC you can try a mouth-stick stylus pen with an onscreen keyboard. They also work with tablets and phones. Similar to mouth sticks used to turn pages of books and press buttons or attached with pens or paintbrushes, mouth stylus pens have a mouth piece with a stick attached, but the stylus tip allows for touchscreen interaction.

Devices like the Quadstick and the MouthPad let quadriplegics control PCs with our mouths. The QuadStick is the mouth-operated joystick controller for gaming and computer access. It is highly recommended among the quadriplegic community, and primarily uses small head movements and sip-and-puff functions. MouthPad is a custom-fit oral device that uses tongue movements and head gestures.

Control your computer with head movement using the Open Sesame App which also works for cell phones. Open Sesame can access any application and uses the front-facing camera to track head movements that guide a cursor across the phone, tablet, computer or TV screen.

As of this writing Open Sesame is still essentially a beta technology, so there are glitches. The startup Sesame Enable, was developed by Giora Livne, a retired naval officer from Israel who is a quadriplegic. Previous head- movement tracking devices are very expensive but as of this writing Open Sesame is offered at no cost.

Funding Sources

Alternative Finance Programs provide referrals for grants, connecting people with local resources that can help them afford accessinle technology. These programs can offer a loan with very low or no interest. There is no income requirement but ability to repay a loan and outstanding credit is taken into consideration. Contact your state's Assistive Technology Act Program.

Vocational Rehabilitation may pay for assistive technology that will be used for an education program and/or employment.

If you are on SSI, and going back to work through the Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) provision, this may include the cost of technology needed to meet an employment goal.

Assistive technology can also be considered an Impairment Related Work Expense when receipts are submitted to the social security administration.