Mouse User Survey: facebook and reddit

[ClaudeJGreengrass]

This is/was a totally unscientific survey where I posed the question below to 3 Facebook ET groups I follow and participate in and one Reddit group. The reason it is unscientific is the people in these groups are not representative of the general public. They have Essential Tremor and may be taking prescription medicines. Some of these people have considered DBS or Focused Ultrasound. These groups are most likely the 1% of ET population and are aware of their condition and actively seeking solutions.

Title: Do you have problems using a Computer Mouse?

There are a number of us ATMakers and users who are just starting the development of an inline device to filter out hand tremor and to make it easier to use the mouse buttons. We are using a new device from Adafruit Inc. that will make this a plug-and-play with no additional software to install.

Tell us what problems you have using a computer mouse or tell us how we could make it easier for you to use.

Responses

National Tremor Foundation Group

Aileen Lawson: I use steadymouse2 and a vertical mouse

Elizabeth Buie: It's hard to be precise with clicks, and drags waver a bit. The biggest issue this gives me is with Photoshop.

Linda Elliott: Elizabeth Buie same as you the drags are a challenge in Photoshop. Plus accidentally double clicking.

Elizabeth Buie: Oh, and sometimes I let go of the mouse button too soon (not just Photoshop!) and have to "undo" and start over.

Caroline Hubbard Reid: I have to use both hands at all times to control the mouse - aiming precisely, controlling the drag to copy/paste etc., sometimes unintentional double-clicks. Hands, arms and shoulders get very tired.
A larger mouse that would allow the whole palm to relax. I have only size 7 hands and still most mice are too small.
I used to use a US gadget which plugged in between the mouse and computer. This had an adjustable 'damper' to use according to the severity of the tremour. So, something for a wireless mouse would be a huge advantage.
Bear in mind that many people with ET use mindfulness and similar techniques to relax the hands/arms. The tremours are triggered from the part of the brain which controls the action, so when we simply have the intention to click on a button, that very intention triggers the tremour. So we use mindfulness and using two hands to trick the brain and reduce the tremours.
Good luck and please keep us posted!

Sarah Rowan: I find it difficult to use drop-down menus and am forever clicking on the wrong place even though my display font is really large. I have used a mouse pen to try to help but it doesn’t.

Moose Leather: I switched to an upright mouse five years back for increased control, and on bad days switch to using a gamepad mapped to mouse/keyboard controls using Keysticks freeware. Your proposed software might make aiming easier in first person shooters though.

Eileen Kowet Asarkof: I find my iPad to be easier than my computer.

Essential Tremor Young Adults

No responses but 1 like

Essential Tremor Info

Sue Mead: Multiple tapping of buttons and just holding steady. I work in tables a lot and just trying to hit the cell I want.

Essential Tremor Awareness Group

Nicole Cullen: The shake makes it hard to position the cursor where you want it. Sometimes it takes me 5 or 6 tries to get it right. Also the click might double or triple when I only mean to click once. Good luck with this. I use a computer as a primary tool for my job. I’m interested to see what you come up with.

Sylvia Organ: getting the right spot (and keeping it long enough to click accurately) on things like drop down menus is really hard and takes me several tries most times. Like I reach the right place and the tremors moves the mouse and I am not longer in the right spot.

Lori Buck Angus: Sylvia Organ yep.this.

Donna Smith: I have trouble with a mouse. I can't use a regular mouse anymore because it's too difficult to click just once or even navigate. I have a finger mouse and it's better but lately I've been using the touch pad. I'm very interested in seeing what you come up with because I too use a computer all day for work.

Deb Glaser: Can you make it hesitate or hover over Radio buttons

Michael Angel: my dad got me a new laptop christmas 2021 and it has touch screen if i start to shake i let everything go untill it calms down

Shirley Oven Toy: I have a hard time double clicking with a mouse (I triple click and sometimes more) so I right click and use the pop up menu to select the option I am looking for. Sometimes I have to lock my elbow in an attempt to control the mouse so that I can click on whatever it is that I am aiming at.

Laurie Akamom Ostergaard-Overbey: yeah, i was trying to pay bills online earler today, and my finger double clicks all the time. same on the keyboard too. i dont think they are overly sensitive, and my tremors are 'gentle' not violent. it's heartbreaking and time consuming, i have to be so careful to check for errors!!

Sharon Sargent: Laurie Akamom Ostergaard-Overbey I went to auto pay for that reason

Catherine Parker: Touch screens are harder

Sylvia Organ: Catherine Parker much harder for me too

Gloria Albers Habeck: I've appreciated SteadyMouse for a long time.

Elaine Pridmore Liles: It depends on how shaky I am but I need the mouse. Touch screens and the pad are almost impossible for me. I have trouble getting the cursor placed where I need it and moving files. I do hope yours will be reasonably priced. Thank you for trying to assist us.

John Wardlow: Accidental click and drag due to hand jerks, inadvertently moving files and folders.

Connie Larsen: Same as described above. It takes at least 5 tries to get the mouse cursor where I want it. Currently I use a large ergonomic style mouse and it supports my entire hand. It works ok, I have had it about 7 years. Thank you for developing a better mouse.

Lawrence Tarnoff: I am modestly ambidextrous so I switched mouse from my dominant right hand to my left works. But now I’m getting tremors in my left hand. Crap!!!

Lori Buck Angus: ATMakers?

T Gilliam Chisholm: You can go into settings and slow down the mouse or device sensitivity. I finally gave in to using voice software. It’s still frustrating but not as bad as trying to use a mouse. Most devices have accessibility features. They are far from perfect but again less frustrating. As far as software I like Dragon. (speech recognition)

Stephanie Armiger: Basically the mouse needs to be HEAVY and SLOW to work for me.

Chris Eickel: It would be a welcome tool

Joshua Aaron Goldman: Will it work on Mac as well as PC? I used steady mouse on windows but am mostly on Mac. Keeping it steady to double click is also a problem. I am a retired tech writer (mostly APIs and other dev doc). Let me know if you need any doc help/review

Lori Buck Angus The tremors are not always steady. It can be a quiver, then in the middle of moving the mouse you have a jerk and a big movement. My job prior to retirement involved tracing small areas of anatomy with a cursor. Very nearly impossible by the time I left.

JoAnn Lloyd: I hit the right mouse button all the time when I don't mean to due to my tremors.

Barb Yarusso: Yes, I don’t drag and drop things without opening separate windows, because otherwise they drop into the wrong folders when I twitch.

Reddit/EssentialTremor

Consistent-Law-5670: i'm not sure that this is applicable to an inline device. my problem was my fingers twitching unintentionally on the mouse buttons and trying to point accurately. a vertical mouse helped a lot. i can keep my forearm on the work surface which helps when pointing. since the buttons are actuated horizontally i don't have to keep my fingers up and away to prevent accidental twitches. but i'd like the mouse to be heavier. the cursor tracking to be slower but not so slow that it requires large arm movements to cover the screen. could your device somehow compensate for positioning overshoot and debounce multiple quick presses?

Ata211: Yes, most mice and some track pads (Dell) are useless. Lenovo works best. I use a trackball by barely touching it. Android phone reacts to the wiggles my fingers do. Track pads register double clicking when I start to swipe. I've had ET for 30 years. One thing that helps sometimes is resting my forearm on a spongy pad with the mouse so that the mouse moves in tandem with my arm. I wish I could edit and delete using voice to text. Even better, be able to control the cursor.

Spac3Punk: Thanks for your work. The unintentional double click is a big problem for me besides the problems with precision. I for myself tested a few mouses and use a heavier one so my involuntary movements are a bit cancelled out. Resting the arm helps also. Maybe it's just a problem with my big hands, but often mouses are too small and lightweight for me. The smaller the mouse the more difficult it is to use with my ET. An additional device needs to be adjustible. So I suggest considering the weight, how big or small, how much pressure is needed for the buttons... Oh and I like a scroll wheel with a bit of resistance or "steps" and not a smooth scroll wheel.