Improving fine motor activities of people with disabilities by using the response-stimulation strategy with a standard keyboard

• Commercial high-technology products can be used as high performance assistive technology devices.
• The standard keyboard can be used as a finger-pressing position detector.
• Two people with developmental disabilities can actively perform fine motor activities using a keyboard.

The principle of this study was to use the finger-pressing position detection program (FPPDP) with a standard keyboard to improve the fine motor activities of disabled people through environmental stimulation. The FPPDP is a software solution which turns a standard keyboard into a finger-pressing position detector. By using this technique, this study tried to find out whether two students with developmental disabilities would be able to effectively perform fine motor activities through the triggering of environmental stimulation. This study was based on an ABAB design and the results showed that both participants demonstrated an obvious increase in terms of their willingness to perform target responses during the intervention phases. The practical and developmental implications of the findings are discussed.