6 Top Communication Aids and Typing Devices for Parkinson’s Patients

Parkinson’s patients face difficulty in writing and communicating. A study says that people suffering from this disease may start having problems regarding walking, talking, and tremors. This disease can very much affect your daily life. 

Speech and communication are the attributes of every person gifted from nature. However, when you have Parkinson’s disease, your natural abilities are affected very much. Your body gets shakiness, you move slowly, and your muscles get rigid as well.

We have a related article for you, you can read Does Parkinson’s Disease Have A Cure? Here’s What We Know!

When the disease progresses, the symptoms get worse, and you find doing your daily tasks difficult. For example, writing, communicating, and eating as well. Some people do not get the effect in their speech and communication. In comparison, some people develop speech and communication problems. 

Communication Aids and Typing Devices for Parkinson’s Patients

In some cases, people get improvement in their speech and communication with medications. There are cases as well in which medications have not proved to be effective.

Here, you will see some communication aids and typing devices that can be very helpful if you have Parkinson’s disease. These are discussed below, have a look at them:

1. Use Thick Pens to Write

When a person has Parkinson’s disease, he/she faces movement disorder of the nervous system. When you try to speak or write something, hands, and mouth shiver, respectively, this is the reason that Parkinson’s patients often lose their confidence which worsens the symptoms.

While writing with a thin pencil or pen, they cannot write properly because of the shivering. Therefore, it is recommended to write with a pen or pencil that has a thick grip. A pen with a thick grip is easier to handle, and there are good chances of conveying your message.  

2. Wear A Weighted Cuff Bracelet

Parkinson’s patients develop an involuntary and rhythmic movement in their arms or hands. With this tremor, people are not able to do their daily tasks. Imagine if your hand is having a movement without your permission and cannot even control it.

Parkinson’s patients often get depressed as they are not able to speak properly. Wearing a weighted cuff bracelet on your wrist can help in such a condition. This effective device can help in controlling the symptoms of hand tremors in Parkinson’s patients. You can buy this cuff bracelet from Amazon. 

3. Use Lined Paper to Write 

While suffering from Parkinson’s disease, it is difficult to write as the hands have a rhythmic disorder. This is usually known as tremor, which does not allow the patient to write properly. Rigidity is also a symptom of Parkinson’s disease in which the muscles get stiffed. They resist any movement.

If you have got thick pens to write and a cuff bracelet on your wrist, these can help write your way out. Make sure that you write on lined papers. Lined papers help a lot to write clear. In this way, you will be able to convey your message. Plus, your confidence will boost when the other person understands what you are trying to say. You can buy lined papers from Amazon.

4. Voice Recorder 

It can be frustrating when you have to write instead of speaking. However, if you do not like to write a lot, a great communication aid for Parkinson’s patients is a voice recorder. This facility is available on every mobile phone. You can record the message and send it to the one you want to communicate. 

5. Use A Keyboard With Large Keys

If you work on the computer and are suffering from Parkinson’s disease, it will become difficult for you to work accurately. If you find difficulty in typing then, there are several keyboard options that you can choose from.

Because of tremors, working on a regular keyboard can result in making mistakes while typing. Using a keyboard with large keys will help control the number of keystrokes made when you press the keys.

Here are two specially designed keyboards for Parkinson’s patients, have a look at them:

·         BigBlu Kinderboard is a specially designed keyboard for Parkinson’s patients with large keys. This is a wireless keyboard that has large keys. It is a good typing device for Parkinson’s patients as the bold, large numbers and letters make it easy to type. The size of this keyboard is more than a regular keyboard because of the large keys. This is a cost-effective typing device for people suffering from Parkinson’s patients. You can purchase it from here. 

·         Vision board keyboard is a large keys keyboard in black color, and the letters are painted white. This is another amazing large-size keyboard having large keys, specially designed for Parkinson’s patients. Parkinson’s patients find it difficult to use a regular keyboard. They can use this one as it improves readability, and there are fewer chances of making mistakes. There are two models available on this keyboard—one with black keys having white letters and the other one with white keys and black letters. You can buy it from Amazon. 

6. Mouse control

As discussed before, tremor is a nervous disorder in Parkinson’s patients. It is not easy for them to work while using a mouse. They can use large-key keyboards for writing without making any mistakes.

Some people find trouble in using the keyboards for tasks that can be done easily with a mouse. Suppose you are suffering from Parkinson’s disease and find yourself in trouble to complete your tasks.

There are specially designed mouses for Parkinson’s patients as discussed below:

·         The big Track-Ball mouse is the biggest trackball mouse that you will ever see. This mouse is designed for Parkinson’s patients who find trouble in using a regular mouse.

The left and right clicks are placed behind the trackball so that you could avoid wrong clicks. You can set the speed to use it more conveniently.

With the big trackball, you can move the cursor up and down on the screen. This is available in a wireless model as well. You can buy it from here. 

We hope that these communication aids and typing devices might help Parkinson’s patients to communicate.