This research was conducted between 1996 and 1998 while I provided accommodation support services to people with disabilities. Four adult students, one with dystonia, three with cerebral palsy, for whom using a standard mouse or pointing device was difficult and slow. An adult with cerebral palsy whose most reliable control site was his left foot. He typed with his big toe. Not all expanded keyboards are equal to the task of keyboard-only access.
Access is compromised unless all three criteria are met.
Of the three keyboards, the IntelliKeys alone satisfied the criteria. He liked the bigness of the Unicorn, and was willing to trade a modicum of function for long-term physical comfort. With considerable effort, we were able to create workarounds for most of its incompatibilities with Windows 95. When helping a single-digit typist select a new keyboard, tradeoffs must be made between productivity, technical features, health and safety factors, and personal preferences. Keyboard-only access to Windows is always possible using MouseKeys.