# Best E-Reader Recommendation for a Quadriplegic?



## love2read (Nov 23, 2008)

Due to a very serious accident, my nephew, 17 years old, recently broke 3 vertebrae in his neck. Right now he is considered tetraplegic (quadriplegic). He has slight moment of one thumb and the first finger in one hand but nothing in the wrists. He has the ability to move his arms but it's a jerky kind of movement. 

He is still in the hospital and will be for about 6-8 more weeks. Soon he will need to try to start to do some school work after his daily rehab is done. 

I currently own a K1. I've seen a K2 but not a DX. I think he may be able to turn the pages on my k1 with the way the page turn buttons work by pushing them outward. He wouldn't be able to wake it up on his own or use the scroll button (k1) or 5 way control (K2). I also know with the K2 that the page turn buttons move inward. I think it may be hard for him to turn pages on his own with the K2.

How does the DX page turns work? Is it just like the K2 with the page turn bars going inward?

Does anyone know someone that is paralyzed in both hands and lower body, that uses any kind of E-Reader? 

I'm going to show him my K1 and see if he can turn pages but am very interested in how the DX and K2 are put to sleep and how to wake them up. Is there anyway to safely do that with your arms? Is it possible to turn pages on your own with arms? He is just learning to use a pointer for some things but doesn't have very good control of placement on a tiny area yet.

Any recommendation to get him back to reading as much as possible on his own?

Thanks

Lynn


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I would think the on/off/sleep/unsleep slider switch on the K2 (and I think it's the same on the DX, but not positive) would be very difficult (if not impossible). Heck, I sometimes fumble with it myself.

My first alternative thought was to use the Kindle for PC program, which would hopefully give you the option of making use of a PC with peripheral devices and/or software to make it more accessible. This might include voice recognition software and larger, easier to use pointing devices, special keyboards, etc. You might want to poke around at http://www.microsoft.com/ENABLE/ for more info regarding Windows accessibility.

Good luck!


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## love2read (Nov 23, 2008)

Thanks for the information. We already have a voice recognition computer on order so the Kindle for PC may be his best option. 

Since he has some movement in his thumb and first finger and can move his arms, the spinal rehab staff doesn't want him to go to all voice equipment so fast and just give up on trying to get more accurate with the little movement he has. They want him to push hard and try to get any bit of his life back as possible.

That's why I was hoping someone might be more familiar with either the DX or even a different type of e-reader that might work.

I'll take my computer with the Kindle for PC downloaded and my K1 in and show him both anyway.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

If you can find someone with an iPhone and the Kindle app on it, that might be worth a look, too. I don't own one so don't know if there are any fiddly switches to worry about, though I believe most of the operation is via the touch screen, which might be worth trying.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

So sorry to hear about your nephew. 

The DX has similar controls to the Kindle 2: an on/off slider switch, and button controls that pivot inward when pressed. 

That might be feasible if he is able to more or less press straight down with a finger or two. 

I have heard on these forums that the original Kindle was easier to operate for people with limited use of their hands... for example, one of our members uses her elbows to operate the Next page and Prev page buttons, and that is easier with the original Kindle's design. 

On the slider switch, if you glued a piece of rubber or cork to the top of the switch, it would make it jut out more - which may make it possible to operate it with an arm or elbow.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

First, I'm so sorry to hear about his accident. 

If he has movement in his right thumb, he may be able to use the 5-way. It's very slight movements. Much easier than the k1. As for the buttons pushing inwards, that may actually work in his favor as he'd get fewer accidental page turns from jerky hand movements. He would definately need help waking it from sleep. You'd need to find or fashion a stand/holder for it to keep it secure for him while he reads.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

I'm so sorry to hear about your nephew.

Awhile back we had another member that was shopping for a Kindle for his son that was quadriplegic. I found the thread for you.

You might want to send him a PM and see how his son is doing with his Kindle. I'm not sure what he ended up buying. It doesn't look like he has been active since Oct 23, 2009. I don't know if you will get a response but it might be worth a shot.

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,13367.0.html


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## higdona (Dec 1, 2009)

I would suggest bringing a list of e-readers and their features to his physical therapist. They can help you choose the one that will suit him best. They can also give suggestions on how to modify the e-reader or other device to accommodate his limited movement. You should also contact the manufacturers and see if they have options for those with limited movement.


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## ElaineOK (Jun 5, 2009)

I would suggest posting your question at www.mobileread.com  There are people there familiar with most, if not all, of the available ereaders.  

Elaine
Norman, OKlahoma


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

Prayers for you nephew and family.
If you post your location, you can might be able to find someone in your area who has the other devices so you can look at them.
I also don't know what hand he still has use of, but the DX only has page turn buttons on the right-hand side.  (Yes, it is possible to turn it upside-down and have the buttons on the left, but it's something to consider.)


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## oganki (Dec 1, 2009)

higdona said:


> I would suggest bringing a list of e-readers and their features to his physical therapist. They can help you choose the one that will suit him best. They can also give suggestions on how to modify the e-reader or other device to accommodate his limited movement. You should also contact the manufacturers and see if they have options for those with limited movement.


I was just going to say the exact same thing. Also, I the iPhone version of the Kindle and am happy to answer/take pictures of whatever you need.


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## Ruby296 (Nov 1, 2008)

I don't have any real recommendations, but wanted to say that I am so sorry about your nephew's accident and I send prayers and good wishes to all of you.  I have an iphone w/the kindle app and it's all operated via touch screen, but I wouldn't want to use it as my main reading source since the screen is so small.


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## love2read (Nov 23, 2008)

Thanks everyone for all the great recommendations. My nephews injury happened out on the football during the last game of his senior year. After the play has been reviews many times by the coaches, they still don't see how this could have happened. There wasn't even a flag thrown on the play. It just happened. 

His spinal cord wasn't severed but is very badly damaged. He has had a few breakthrough movements in his toes. But that comes and goes. We are hoping for a miracle and more movement starts to come back.

I think I'll start by showing him my computer and K1. After reading everyone's comments though, I think that in a few weeks I may order a DX and try it for 30 days with him. Maybe the bigger size would be better. I think the idea of attaching something to the slider and even the page turning keys may help him be more independent with it.

He is overwhelmed right now just trying to learn how to do the most basic things. So I think if I give him a few more weeks, maybe he won't be so overwhelmed and after much more practice with basics will have better use of his arms and two fingers. The only motion I've seen with his fingers is on the right hand. He can bring the thumb and first finger together and touch the tips but the grip isn't strong enough yet to pick anything up. I haven't seen him actually move them in any direction expect together and apart.

His current target date to come home is in the middle of January. That will give me a bit more time to ask his therapists and give him a bit more time hopefully regain more movement and get more input from him as to what would be the least frustrating.

He would have graduated 3rd in his class with an honors diploma. He had just finished filling out college applications and was ready to mail them after he was done with football. His goals may take longer to reach but we are going to do everything we can to help him reach as high as possible.


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## Tip10 (Apr 16, 2009)

If you are not overly concerned with voiding the warranty you could also have someone pop the case and parallel the on/off and page forward and backward switched (and possibly the 5-way) out of the case via cable and set up another control box that would be easier to manipulate -- I'm thinking something like momentary bat handled toggles would probably be easiest for the page and on/off buttons.

Where there is a will there is ALWAYS a way. 

With a support system around him such as you ways will be found.

God Bless You and good luck!!


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

There was a table of 30 ereaders posted recently, anybody remember the thread name?


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## geneven (Jul 30, 2009)

Yes, someone beat me to my Kindle for PC recommendation. Together with Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software this might be a great combination, and should be fun. A fast computer is pretty important as well.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

I used to work with several para- and quadriplegics, and what those who could flex their back or neck muscles somewhat used for typing was a plastic stick with an eraser at the end, kind of resembling those huge pencils you buy for kids.  They would hold it in their mouths and tap away.  I would think something like that would work quite well for the page buttons (assuming it's suspended in some kind of stand or arm/bracket), and an apparatus could be rigged to the on/off slider that would translate a press from front to back into a slide to the right.  Or, like has been suggested, rewire a button onto the face of the unit.

There may be other e-readers that would be easier as well.  I wouldn't consider the nook, as the capacitive touchscreen used for all navigation would be impossible for a quadriplegic to use.  But there are probably others that are more conducive to use by the disabled.

sidenote:  Funny that Dragon NaturallySpeaking was mentioned--the company I was talking about above was in assistive technology, and was one of only a few companies in the country that was a licensed distributor for DragonDictate, the predecessor to NaturallySpeaking.  Things have gotten a lot better since then, and a lot cheaper too--the top-end DragonDictate package (there were 3 editions) was $1800, back in 1996.  It did come with a kick-ass Shure headset though, which was worth a few hundred on its own   But even then, it was a HUGE help for the vast majority of our customers.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

kevindorsey said:


> There was a table of 30 ereaders posted recently, anybody remember the thread name?


eReader Comparison Chart


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I'm sorry this happened to your nephew.  

Lots of great input here.  

I'd for sure talk to his spinal rehab people and get input from them, what can be expected and even hoped for  and they may be able to get recommendations from others who have made adaptations or adopted various readers, too.


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## legalbs2 (May 27, 2009)

kevindorsey said:


> There was a table of 30 ereaders posted recently, anybody remember the thread name?


I have a copy of that comparison chart and I will look for the post. I think I remember it.

I found the post on Page 2 of the Let's Talk Kindle Home Page entitled "eReader Comparison Chart". Here is the link.

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix


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## love2read (Nov 23, 2008)

Thanks again for all the ideas. I'm heading up to the hospital in a few minutes with my K1 just to show my nephew the basics of it. 

Although I am going to look through the comparison charts this evening, I'm leaning toward the K DX. I want to go to our local high school on Monday and see if I can get information about the exact AP Text books that he was using before the accident. I'm hoping that if some college text books are now available on the DX that maybe some of his higher level high school books may be available in electronic format as well.

I'm hoping with his limited hand movement that he may be able to work the buttons with a few modifications that have been mention by others on this tread. I'm going to print some of this thread and show my brother-in-law. He is really good at making these kind of changes.

I'll probably have to get the DX and let them show it to the physical therapists. I think that having it on hand will help them all figure out to adapt it.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. If anyone else thinks of any other ideas, please post it.

My nephew's older brother is a computer specialist and started searching right away for the best available in voice recognition computers and cell phones. We even found an MP3 player that has voice recognition. The computer was ordered with all the top of the line stuff but we need to wait for the OK from the hospital staff for him to use it.

I would really like to see him be able to use something like the DX so that if he is able to go back to school in the Spring, he will have a way to take some of his books and be independent. He also likes some magazines. It would be nice if a few sports magazines would come on board with an electronic version.

I'll show them the Kindle for PC but that won't help him in a classroom. We need to keep encouraging as much as independence in all areas as soon as he can handle it.

Lynn


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Lynn, so sorry to hear about your nephew.  I will keep him and the rest of your family in my 
thoughts and prayers.
deb


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## LibbyD (Apr 28, 2009)

I have personal experience with serious finger, hand, wrist, arm, and shoulder limitations, and I think it is quite possible your nephew could operate the sleep switch on a K2.  It would depend on him keeping either his forefinger or thumb rigid and moving his arm slightly from left to right.  However, I think you should discuss the matter of e-readers with the rehab staff.  If they are not familiar with them you can acquaint yourself with the way various readers work and describe them to the staff.  Even without first hand experience with the readers their advice would still be the best.  

Sometime quite soon there is going to be a page turning device for Kindle.  It will be integrated with a stand and could very well be the solution to the problem.  I regret that I can't say more.  I was given an opportunity to review the product, but had to agree to keep all the information about it confidential.

All best wishes to your nephew.


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