Making the Adjustment
Disability
 
Disabilities that we address on this site, including the inability to sit, the inability to bend, and the need to keyboard in bed

Automobile safety for the horizontal passenger

Computer setups for the horizontal:

The Adjustment
Remapping Keybd
The Keyboards
Stilt Keyboards
Leg & Back Rests
Building Arm Slings
Tch Typist Armrest H&P Typist Armrest
Building Stilt Keybd
Building Kbd Holder
Build Laptop Holder
Build Laptop Cover
Build Paper Holder
File Holder
Word Macros
Make Back Support
Pillow Modification
Computing on Back
Recliner Chairs
Building Foam Desk
Build a Book Holder
Recliner with Desk

Computer setups for the back-lying

Computer setups for the reclining


Sleeping and reading
accessories for the
side-lying


Reading and writing
stand for the standing


Music keyboard raiser

Food holder

Tray holder and standing assistance acces- sory

Raised work trays for kitchen or workroom

Raised workbench for garage

Raised massage table

Raised sinks, faucets, and towel racks

Mattresses for TV watching and eating

Using a reacher device for dressing, picking things up, and grabbing things that are too high or low to reach without bending or straining

Toilet seat riser

Living Room Floor-Level Back-Lying Remote Holder

Living Room Back-Lying Remote Holder

Two High-Leverage Shower Knobs

Raised Shower Head

Remodeled Counter and Sink Faucet and Faucet Knobs in Bathroom and Kitchen

Left-Click Microswitch and Switch-Adapted Mouse

Xkeys for Easier Drag and Copy and Paste Functions

Bathtub Saddle Remodel for Safety

Do-It-Yourself Accessibility Wrench for Pool Filters and Valves

Accessibility Pool Steps with Reduced Riser Height

Hot Tub with Safety Rail and Safety Pole

Links
Here is your new situation: You are not sitting; you are side-lying on a bed. Your computer screen is either a flat screen monitor or a laptop which you mount sideways on the side of your bed, a table or a shelf. If you use a laptop, you open it fully flat, and ignore its keyboard since you use a keyboard plugged into the back of the computer. You may even use two keyboards—but neither are your laptop's! You type at a gentle slant with one hand, and upwards with the other hand, since one keyboard has one edge raised a few inches while the other one is upside-down. If you are wondering if your keyboard is hanging from the ceiling, rest assured it is not (although your forearm may be!). The keyboard hangs from a board which is on stilts.

You have almost nowhere to put things that you can reach from this position, so you mount your files and books in Wall File Pockets on the wall at the head of the bed; and this is easy to reach. You wall-mount a document holder on a hinged stick that swings out above the screen. You also wall-mount such things as a hub, router, lamp, cables, a power supply, a telephone, and an intercom. You need to reach only the latter two of these with your fingers.

You may need to build laptop/flat screen holders on both sides of your bed due to the need for changing positions for comfort. It's a bit of a hassle to move the equipment to the other side, but only takes a minute. You may prefer to do computing on one side and lie on the other side for everything else you do side-lying-although it's important to change sides while sleeping.

You'll likely type more slowly, so you'll want to use shortcut keys, macros, and AutoCorrect to help you get more done. Another way to be efficient relates to how you use the stilt keyboard. If you're a touch typist, you'll type the same keys as before, mostly, except that half of the keys you type you'll type upwards. The same goes for hunt-and-peck typists that are changing to touch typing. But if you plan to stay with hunt-and-peck and haven't a single brain cell open to the idea of changing your ways (I'm embarrassed to say I'm one of these), then you'll learn to use a stilt keyboard in strange ways to supplement your other hand.