Writing Resources For The Disabled Writer

I take for granted that I can wake up, sit in my office chair, and write/type all day long if I want. No restrictions. Nothing is hindering me. I’m physically capable of doing it, but there are many people who have a physical disability that restricts their ability to write with ease on a daily basis. For example, I have a friend who has multiple sclerosis and no matter how many times she tells me, it doesn’t totally seem to register to me that some days she just can’t get a lot of writing done in her business because sitting at a computer for long periods of time is just too physically painful.

Yet writing is the ultimate freedom for someone who may be restricted in some way physically, and so as a writer, I am very much committed to promoting the career of writing as a viable income source for people who are unable to work traditional jobs outside the home on a regular basis due to their disability. I hope that this list of resources that I’m sharing today will help support those that choose to do so.

*Please note that this list was originally compiled by novelist Lynn Viehl of PaperBack Writer. She is a self-described “handicapped writer”. You can support her by purchasing one of her books. Thank you Lynn.

Resources

Click-N-Type Virtual Keyboard

CNT keyboard customizer (to customize Click-N-Type keyboard)

Cyber Buddy text-to-speech freeware

Dot-to-Dot MacIntosh Braille Editor

EZMagnifier screen magnifier freeware

Java Accessibility Helper (aids developers in making their JFC-based programs accessible to users with disabilities.)

MouseCam screen magnifier

Natural Reader text-to-speech freeware

Philing.net’s free braille and deaf language fonts

Point-N-Click virtual mouse (designed to be compatible with Click-N-Type keyboard)

Rapid Keys Intelligent Virtual Keyboard

Additional Resources:

Grants for Disabled Writers

Helpful Products for Blind and Physically Handicapped People

Simtel’s list of 114 programs for the handicapped user

Programs for handicapped users

Do have any other resources that may be useful for a physically disabled writer? Please share them below and I’ll add them to the list.