WEEK14 Neck-muscles from Typing - Paul Alexander

    In 1952 the six-year-old Paul Alexander becomes ill and soon is diagnosed with Polio. The chances are slim but he manages to survive, not without losing his mobility and physical freedom. Since then Alexander has been confined to the range of his “iron lung”. The iron long keeps his vital organs alive, but requires large amounts of energy and technical thus making a normal life extremely difficult. Alexander is immobilized from the neck down, however learned to use different tools with his mouth to draw, type or control other elements.

    Alexander worked hard to learn to breathe without his iron lung. For the first three seconds he needed almost a year of practice, but he was tenacious and wanted to explore the yard, then the streets and after completing his studies he managed to appear in court as a lawyer for hours at end.

    In 1967 Alexander succeeded in completing high school without ever attending class and went on to study law at the University of Texas (Austin). He flipped pages using a stick with his mouth, wrote his papers by mouth or dictated them. He learned to skillfully use his mouth and neck to create drawings and in the modern age to type documents, use a phone and over the span of eight years he wrote a 160-page book, typing everything himself. His first pen-on-stick tool was built by his father, who then further placed holders for books and pieces of paper for him to reach with it. His body has barely developed since the time he was put in the iron lung, except for his worn-down teeth, due to using the stick and an eighteen-inch neck (45.7cm).

    Due to his advanced age and stick-skill when the first personal computers were released he did not require special equipment to use them. He did face difficulties with original keys, that were harder to press and controlling the mouse took some practice. Software or hardware developments were not necessary for Alexander as he overcame the challenges by pushing his motor-skills. Once, larger keyboard keys were suggested, but larger keys would have spread out the keyboard and made it less accessible for him to reach all corners. Due to his limited turning range of the neck he had a mirror suspended at an angle above him, so that he could observe the room or read the screen more comfortably, thus requiring the software to mirror the content of the screen.

    Especially for more common disabilities the software and hardware adaptations are more widespread, however the case of Paul Alexander is extremely rare. Thus, he faced the challenge to adapt his skills, as the industry was not naturally going to solve the issues he faced. However, development of the hardware and software also brought him advantages, such as lighter keys. From Alexander we can learn that sometimes we should not wait for somebody else to provide a solution, but to find a solution with the resources we have ourselves.