| Summary: | It was suggested several decades ago that computers would be the single biggest step forward in integrating people with physical disabilities into "normal" society. At that stage, much work was done in writing software and designing hardware that allowed computer operators with disabilities to use packages effectively, in certain cases as efficiently as people without disabilities. Since those days, judging by the lack of references on this subject the interest in dealing with disabled people has waned. It is only very recently that the spotlight has been focused on these potentially very productive persons. Unfortunately, the backlog is large and most existing applications software offers little or no support for users with disabilities. In this thesis, I have examined some of the hardware and software limitations of current desktop computer technology, focusing on the IBM PC and compatibles. I have also written a computer program that attempts to relieve some of the difficulties faced by a limited number of disabled users. In evaluating the results, I considered it important to relate the ensuing data with the real problems faced by a far wider spectrum of users than I attempted to cater for with the program and to suggest ways in which software products could be made to have wider applicability in the future.
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