Gadgets

[Beckey]

Has anyone found a gizmo that helps people with a pronounced tremor to write or draw? I've seen ads for such things online but most look kind of cheesy.

[JohnPepper]

Hi Beckey. You may not want this answer, but it is true and it works.

If you try to write very slowly and concentrate very hard on WHAT YOU ARE WRITING it will work for you as it works for me.

[Beckey in reply to JohnPepper]

Thanks for responding.

[HeartSong]

Hi, Beckey. The levodopa therapy takes care of my hand writing now. But, before I started on levodopa therapy, my hand writing was excruciatingly difficult and exhausting. Two of the things I tried that did not work were 1) a swan neck pen and 2) a PenAgain. The only gadget that helps me at least a little is what is called on Amazon The Classics Triangle Grip:

amazon.com/Classics-Triangl...

It sells on Amazon for $17.37 for a pack of 50. (There is a similar triangle grip that is slightly transluscent and slightly flexible, and, if I remember correctly, it didn't work as well for me.)

The Classics Triangle Grip is made of hard, rubbery plastic, is about 1 3/8 inches long, has 3 sides, and slips over the end of any inexpensive stick pen (purchased separately). I put one on all my pens now, and it helps me to slightly relax my grip. (There are other pen grips on Amazon made from softer materials and shaped a little differently. I tried several. The Classics Triangle Grip was the only one that helped even a little.)

Additionally, as the levodopa starts wearing off and the cursive writing becomes difficult, I switch to printing for a few minutes. It seems to be a little easier.

[Beckey in reply to HeartSong]

Thanks! Very helpful.

[wifeofparky]

I picked up a special pen from a drug company display at one of our PD Symposiums. It is wish bone shaped and the grip made it easier for my husband to write. I have RA in my hands and sometimes need to use it when my grip strength is bad due to swelling.

[Beckey in reply to wifeofparky]

Wow! Do you recall the name or the brand?

[HeartSong in reply to Beckey]

There are wish bone-shaped pens on Amazon called PenAgain.

[wifeofparky]

It was one of those giveaways. I'm certain they bought them in bulk from an ad company.

If I ever see them for sale I will post the info here

[pad10]

This is a neat video on a watch that was created by Microsoft to assist a graphics artist with PD. I wanted to share it because it shows the possibilities for the future though this technology is not for the rest of us...yet. i wrote to MS when i saw this video and they said the watch is highly specialized for Emma's tremors. It could not be mass marketed. Maybe someday.....

bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04jylxm

[johntPM in reply to pad10]

I tried to get something like this working for myself. Unfortunately I failed. An obvious way to go about a DIY approach is to use small vibrating motors controlled by an Arduino microcontroller. You should be able to get all the parts together for about £20. The devil is in the detail, coming up with the right algorithm.

John

[pad10 in reply to johntPM]

That's a formidable detail ... That was basically their response to me that it was very specific to Emma's tremors. There are some more lengthy interviews online with the MS engineer and Emma If you want to poke around you might find them....Good luck!

[Enidah]

Hi Beckey. I haven't found an answer for this either. If I write slow it becomes super shaky, if I write fast it's better but can be illegible. I had an important check to write the other day to the IRS and used up three checks before I got one that was legible enough. Ha, so it goes.

[Beckey in reply to Enidah]

Ha ha, I've sure done that a lot!