Physical

Paralysis

Persona: Isaiah

Isaiah, 32, Black, lives in an accessible apartment with his partner. Uses switch access and eye tracking to manage his personal and small business finances independently.

About This Condition

Full or partial paralysis requires complete reliance on alternative input methods such as eye tracking, switch access, voice control, or head pointer devices. Every interaction that assumes standard keyboard or pointer use becomes a hard barrier when those input paths are unavailable.

Digital Challenges

Interfaces built exclusively for mouse or touch input lock out people with paralysis entirely. Without keyboard operability, switch access support, and well-structured focus order, tasks that take seconds for others can take minutes or become impossible to complete at all.

Assistive Technologies

  • Switch access
  • eye tracking
  • voice control

Design Considerations

Test every flow using switch access and keyboard-only navigation. Use visible focus indicators so current position is always clear. Minimize the number of Tab stops required to reach primary actions on every screen.

Clinical Examples

Spinal cord injury, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), stroke-related hemiplegia, Guillain-Barré syndrome