Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, Vol. 11, No. 4, December 2001 ( C  2002) Effectiveness of Arm Supports During Typing for Adults With Neurological Disorders Lawrence J.H. Schulze, 1,3 Martha H. Ramos, 1 and Lois Tetrick 2 Four computer-typing accommodations were evaluated to determine if arm supports would enhance typing performance and/or comfort of adults with neurological disorders. Each of 12 adults (6 females and 6 males) participated in 7-min typing tasks under the following conditions: 1) without arm support, 2) Ergo Rest  arm support, 3) custom arm support in fixed mode, and 4) custom arm support with movable mode. The objective dependent variables were speed, errors, and type of errors. The subjective dependent measures were reported body part discomfort, and arm support ratings. The data were found to be non- parametric in nature. Therefore, nonparametric techniques were employed to analyze the data. Only one of the objective dependent measures were statistically significant; Type of error (additional key). This result may be attributed to the wide range of disability manifes- tations among participants. Subjective dependent measures were found to be statistically significant, leading to the conclusion that typing with an arm support was more comfortable and easier than without an arm support. KEY WORDS: arm supports; rehabilitation; human–computer interaction; neurological disorders; anthropo- metrics; typing. INTRODUCTION Some physically challenged adults do not have the necessary capabilities to type ac- curately on a keyboard because of their irregular arm movements or arm weakness. For this population, it is very difficult to interact with the computer; thus, restricting their in- dependent and dynamic development. This research effort assessed whether the use of arm supports for adults with neurological disorders enhanced speed and comfort and decreased errors, when typing at a computer. 1 Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas. 2 Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas. 3 Correspondence should be directed to Lawrence J.H. Schulze, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Houston, E206-D3 Engineering Bldg 2, Houston, Texas 77204-4008; e-mail:ljhs@uh.edu. 235 1053-0487/01/1200-0235/0 C  2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation