Jane is a retired cook who was widowed last year. She has two sons, both are married with children and live some distance away from her. Jane has arthritis which has really begun to  limit her mobility; she never learned to drive and she finds it very difficult to take the train to go and visit her sons.

For her last birthday, they bought her a PC and showed her how Skype can be used with a webcam so that she can speak with, and see her grandchildren on a regular basis. Jane was delighted with the gift and the idea of being able to communicate with her family regularly without the need for expensive phone calls. She had no previous experience of using Information Technology but was keen to learn.  Fortunately, the local library, just down the road, had just started a new class for ‘Silver Surfers’, so Jane enrolled on the course.

As soon as she started the course, Jane became really frustrated. She found that manipulating the mouse and using the keyboard really made her arthritis flare up and caused her a lot of pain. A number of other people in the group also had some manual dexterity difficulties and the course teacher quickly realised that this was causing problems. He was able to access funding to buy a number of ergonomic products for the course which had been designed specifically to minimise user-fatigue and discomfort which sometimes occurs with the use of standard equipment. The specialised products such as keyboards for one-handed typists, large print or large button keyboards for those with mobility or vision issues, as well as large trackball mice, made a huge difference to the course participants. Jane made really good progress and now enjoys the ‘virtual company’ of her grandchildren on a regular basis as well as the new friends she has made on her IT course.

Two people with the same disability can experience different effects. Furthermore, the effects of one disability can be similar to the effects of another (for example, deaf learners and learners who have autistic spectrum disorders may both experience difficulties in using abstract language).