As easy as it is to activate a capacitative touch screen sometimes that ease can make it difficult, causing accidental hits or activation for individuals or students who have difficulty with finger isolation.  Causing additional hits and activation can be frustrating, especially when just making a movement can be an effort! Styluses can help with targeting a single point but some users aren’t ready for an implement like a standard stylus.

Scouring the racks for magic gloves with cut out fingers (or cutting the index finger tip) at discount stores at the end of the winter season can provide a cheap solution. Here are some great solutions from an experienced family sharing methods to increase the success of activating the iPad for a child with motor challenges. Check out this blog post from Uncommon Sense:  Necessity is the Mother of Invention for some great ideas. Here is one of their ideas from their blog :

Retrived on 5/1/2012 from http://niederfamily.blogspot.com/2012/03/necessity-is-mother-of-invention.html .

I really liked their ideas of using conductive thread, kids tea gloves or easter gloves (- might be still available and on sale??) to get a smaller fitting glove.

I found some great deals on cheap gloves, some with fingers and some without at discount stores by cruising their sale racks. There are also gloves make with capacitative finger tips (New Easy2touch Touch Screen Gloves PICK YOUR COLORS!!!) made just for touch screen devices:

We call them smart gloves at school (we also use them with the Smartboards when little fingers are too sticky to slide well!) and students don them readily to use with a iDevice!

Thanks to Uncommon Sense for their great ideas – when there’s a will there’s a way. Simple solutions to add to your OT iTool Kit!

Carol