I know of someone who not only is blind, but has a cognitive disability. This person cannot easily work the gestures, and claims they'd want some kind of remote control for navigating an iPhone or iPad.
For me, who is only blind, the remote control is a convenience and not an essential accessory. I know that some people with cognitive disabilities, in addition to blindness, might need a remote control more than I do.
Does anyone out there know of a good remote control type unit that might help meet this need? Thanks.
Comments
maybe switch control?
I don't know of a remote control per say, but maybe switch control or guided access might be good things to look into? Especially guided access, since that would keep him/her in an app, and make it so they can't get lost.
braille display or bluetooth keyboard
Hi. I think any braille display with a keyboard or just a normal qwerty bluetooth keyboard sounds like a good idea here. They both have ways to control iOS devices using different keystrokes. It's just a matter of what commands braille or qwerty are easier for them to remember and use. If they are also planning on typing as well as controlling the device then wether they like braille or qwerty typing should also be considered. If they don't care about typing and just need a remote with physical buttons to control the device, then it should not matter if they use a braille or qwerty keyboard. If they like the braille commands better, get a braille device. If they like the qwerty keyboard commands better, get a bluetooth qwerty keybord. There are maybe 1 or 2 gestures that can not be done on a braille or qwerty keyboard because there are some gestures that do not have keyboard equivalents and must be done on the screen of the iOS device, but 99 percent of the time the iOS device can be controlled remotely by the braille or qwerty keyboard. The RIVO also may be something to look into. I hope you find something.
Assistive Touch
I have a client with limited mobility, and they use assistive touch to access the phone. This can be found in the Accessibility settings in the General Section of the Settings app.
Physical Bluetooth Remote?
The answer to this depends, but someone mentioned bluetooth keyboards. Just about any bluetooth device that can connect to an iPhone or iPad can be utilized as a remote. If Voiceover is on, the arrow keys can be used as a remote controller. If a small device is needed, lets say that same size as an iphone, one should look into a small keyboard called MQ - Rivo by Mobience. There should be a review about the keyboard on this site. Basically the keyboard is the size of a credit card and there are only numbers on it. Image using the numbers 4,5,6 as the navigation keys. 4 is to move left, 5 to double tap or select an item, and 6 to move right. There are about enough buttons to equal all the voiceover commands. I use it when my phone is in my bag. It lets me navigate the iphone with voiceover while I listen through a bluetooth headset.
An idea
I am not an app developer, but I thought of a brilliant idea about a year ago. I thought of a situation just like this one. I thought of an app that takes voice commands and dictation, and uses it to control the iOS device for VoiceOver users. The app would have all the standard functionality that Bluetooth keyboards or braille displays provide through emulating keyboard commands, but it would also have the ability to dictate text into edit fields, and also to tap in specific areas of the screen. Unfortunately, there is no such app, and, due to Apple's limitations on developers, the app would not be allowed into the App Store at the moment, but I hope this idea will eventually become an app.