[nabs-l] Using a Mouse as a Blind Individual

[Anita Adkins]

How about for playing games; I have not done this, but it seems as if I have 
heard of some games that use a mouse during play that is adapted for the 
blind.  And, it could be a great tool if a travel instructor adapted a game 
where the mouse was used to teach cardinal directions and could work with an 
audio game where the person moved north by moving the mouse away from the 
user, south for toward the user, left for west, and right for east.  Just an 
idea I just now thought of, and so sorry if it is lame.  Anita
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jewel S." <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2010 1:32 AM
Subject: [nabs-l] Using a Mouse as a Blind Individual


> Dear list,
> Have you ever considred using a mouse as a blind individual? I
> haven't...I mean, what's the point of using a mouse if you can't see
> the pointer, right? Wrong!
>
> Today, I found a new reason to use NVDA...not instead of JAWS, but at
> the same time as JAWS. No, I'm not using two voices together (have you
> ever done that accidentally? It's hard to understand anything because
> of the dual voices). I set NVDA to silent (Insert + N, Preferences,
> Synthesizer, then chose Silent from the first menu). Keep your JAWS
> running (or if you use NVDA or another as your primary, keep that
> voice going...you'll need it still!). Now, go into Mouse Setting
> (Insert + N, Preferences, Mouse Settings). Here, you can tell it to
> use audio coordinates, speak when you're over text (character, word,
> line, paragraph), speak when you're over an icon (like on the
> desktop), and it will also speak that you are over a link, button, or
> other element.
>
> Now, this next part is for people with some residual vision. No, you
> don't have to have much. My vision is 3/350 in one eye and light
> perception only in the other, so if your vision is better than mine,
> you'll likely benefit from this.
>
> In Control Panel, go to your mouse settings (this is different
> depending on which system you have. I type mouse in the search box,
> but I have Windows 7). You'll probably want to have high contrast, so
> if you have a black on white theme, pick the extra large black mouse.
> If you have white on black like I do, which is higher contrast, choose
> the extra large white mouse pointer (this is in pointer option). Check
> the box for it to locate the mouse when you press control, and give
> the mouse a trail for extra size (for me, this makes the mouse look
> like it's moving, which is a need of mine, since I have trouble seeing
> things that are not moving). You can give the mouse just a little
> trail or a very long tail, depending on your preferences. You'll also
> want to change the speed to 10 percent (the slowest speed) until you
> get good at moving the mouse, as the faster the mouse, the harder it
> is to be accurate.
>
> Now, with your black background and white mouse, or white background
> and black mouse, look closely at the desktop. Press the control key to
> locate the mouse, or move it around to listen to what NVDA says. It
> will tell you when you are getting close to icons. The higher and
> louder the beep, the closer to an icon or window.
>
> Using these tools, I was able to click and drag a window, choose a
> colour from a color wheel, and click an inaccessible drop-down menu.
> It wasn't easy, and it probably took me about 5 times as long as a
> sighted person would take (maybe longer), but I did it, and thus many
> previously inaccessible sites and features of programs are not
> accessible to me, and they can be to you, too! Even if you don't have
> any sight at all, NVDA's mouse features will allow you to, with a bit
> of practice, manuever around the desktop and click inaccessible items
> with your mouse!
>
> I hope you find this helpful, and I'd love to hear how it goes for you
> guys. If this is something that everyone except me already knew about,
> sorry. I'm just so excited that I can use a mouse again after 2 years
> (since I lost my sight), and I wanted to share with you guys.
>
> Good luck and have funm,
>
> -- 
> ~Jewel
> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>
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