Several people have mentioned eye tracking as a potential access method, but this can be tricky for many people with CP due to difficulties with regulating head control.
However I have known many people with severe CP who successfully access the computer using different combinations of the following:
Software that allows on screen scanning through menus and keyboards (e.g. The Grid 2 ) Mouse clicking using a large easy to hit switch (e.g. Discover Switch) Mousing using a well designed joystick (e.g. Penny and Giles Joystick)
These are just some ideas and my knowledge in this area is several years out of date, so there may be much better stuff around now.
The best solution would be to have an Occupational Therapist and/or Rehabilitation Engineer who specialises in computer access do a full assessment with your friend to determine the best access method and then trial some equipment at home before buying anything.
What an innovative solution to a very difficult situation.
I’ve talked to my friend’s caregiver and he said that “smooth pursuit” eye movements are not a problem; however, as c for cuds pointed out, I can see how his involuntary head movements might present difficulties in finding pupil positioning with a camera.
I will continue my search online to see if I can find more assistive technology and post links here as I see them.
Alterego, Universal Access in OSX is for Mac, correct?
Yep, universal access is for mac osx. If you get the latest verison - Leopard, you’ll get the best features. You can just go into an apple store and describe the situation to them and ask them to walk you through it. I don’t use it so i’m not an expert on that.
I do know that newer eyetracking systems compensate for head motion. They can of course be expensive, but in principle you should be able to compute the motion of the head just by looking at the eye itself. That system may very well exist.
Software that allows on screen scanning through menus and keyboards (e.g. The Grid 2 )