SMA News Forums Forums Assistive Technology Hand Falling Off Joystick

  • greg-sealey

    Member
    September 17, 2021 at 7:58 am

    Yes.  I finally had to convert to a micro joystick and a tray to rest my hand on.  Now my hand remains stable.  I just have my thumb resting on top of the tiny joystick that requires almost no force to use.

  • alyssa-silva

    Member
    September 17, 2021 at 10:23 am

    Yes, I have a mini joystick and drive with my index finger. My finger falls off a lot, especially when I hit a bump or am on grass. It’s frustrating but I don’t really have another way.

  • tammy

    Member
    September 17, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    Yes I definitely have this issue and fear. Or if some idiot goes to talk to me and grabs my hand and pulls it off that always pisses me off. Luckily all of my friends know how to get my hand back on if it happens with them. And even people at my job. But it’s still a fear of it happening by myself which it has happened. Not very often though. It never was a problem when I was maybe 5 years younger and I had more strength in my arms. But now it’s become an issue. But I also did come up with a funny hack for in the house. So I took one of those long s’mores wood skewers, I cut maybe about 4 inches off the bottom end and I glued it across the very top end where the point is to kind of make like an L shape. So when it falls I grab the stick with my mouth and I hook it under my wrist and use my mouth to pull my hand back up with the stick. It actually works pretty well. If anyone would like to see what it looks like and how I do it feel free to let me know as it may help some of you

  • robert-stump

    Member
    September 17, 2021 at 9:54 pm

    I use one of those micro joysticks with an index finger with my palm resting on a hard flat shaped pad, and yes it is very difficult to keep it just in the right place when going over any bumps in the roadway. It is frustrating.

    To fix this problem correctly, one day I plan to put some really deep grooves into my pad so my hand sits down into it and really can’t move once it is there, but I haven’t taken the time or effort to figure out how to do that. So, in the meantime when I am out and about I put a 4″ wide strap over my entire hand and fasten it down on either side of my pad using Velcro. If I have it tight enough, my hand is prevented from sliding side to side and does a much better job of keeping my finger in the right place. Unfortunately, it can still slide forward and back with some terribly aggressive bumps or hills I go over, but it’s better than nothing! It also keeps the random stranger from trying to shake my right hand since it isn’t easily accessible for them to find!

    • yvette-haas

      Member
      September 18, 2021 at 1:24 pm

      Based on your idea, you might want to look into getting some Instamorph or Sugru. I’m thinking you could maybe make a whole contoured platform from Instamorph, OR add some ridges to what you already have with Sugru.

  • blake-watson

    Member
    September 20, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    I used to have this problem a lot. In the mid-2010s I switched to using a mini joystick. I tried to write more about it in this post but something seems to be preventing me from doing that. It’s cool tho… it’s handheld.

    • brianna-albers

      Member
      September 28, 2021 at 5:12 pm

      Oh, interesting! How does it work?

      • blake-watson

        Member
        September 30, 2021 at 1:22 am

        It is a micro joystick that was placed inside of a hollowed out Nintendo Wii nunchuck controller. It’s plugged into an Omni display that I keep on the back of my chair because I don’t really need to see it

  • holly-dillon

    Member
    September 29, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    my joystick is shaped like goal post. that really helped.

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