Title: Application of word prediction and disambiguation to improve text entry for people with physical disabilities (assistive technology)

Authors: Hisham Al-Mubaid, Ping Chen

Addresses: University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, Texas, 77058, USA. ' University of Houston-Downtown, One Main Street Houston, TX 77002, USA

Abstract: Computers and technologies are becoming an integral and important part of lives for most people, including those with disabilities. Improving and enhancing text entry and interaction with computers for disabled users has been investigated for many years, with many systems and interface devices proposed to facilitate and simplify text input process. This paper describes how we improve textual information entry, through word prediction, as an assistive technology for people with motion impairment using the regular input device, the keyboard, to eliminate the overhead and cognitive load needed for the learning process associated with the new and specialised input devices.

Keywords: HCI; human-computer interaction; assistive technologies; disability; word prediction; text entry; motion impairment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSHC.2008.020477

International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing, 2008 Vol.1 No.1, pp.10 - 27

Published online: 27 Sep 2008 *

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