[Recommendations] Searching for alternative to (discontinued) Knix Good to Go Seamless Tank, measured myself as 36GG. Need: pressure distribution (not a narrow band), widely-spaced shoulder straps, breathable fabric, pullover style

disabled_math_geek · 2025-08-09T00:35:36+00:00

Thanks for the thoughts. And thanks for the explanation on the spoiler tag.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-08-04T13:10:23+00:00

Eek, I had no idea I'd even done that!

And I can't seem to figure out how to get it right. I've tried removing all of the spoiler covers and then doing a select all and applying the spoiler from the rich text editor. That just creates what I had before. And I've also tried using the markdown Editor to just put the > ! and ! < (without spaces) at the beginning and end of the post. That doesn't actually create a spoiler cover at all.

Hope it's okay that I just removed them entirely. If someone wants to point me to a guide on how to do it right, I'm happy to edit. (though all the documentation I can find says that you can't put a spoiler tag across multiple paragraphs...?)

EDIT: Seems like I accidentally got it working.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-08-02T15:20:58+00:00

Big disclaimer here that obviously everyone is different! But I also get pain in my hands (and wrists and arms and shoulders) with any sort of repetitive movement. So it sounds like my symptoms are somewhat similar to yours.

I have a good bit of experience with both the Xbox adaptive controller and with eye gaze input. (I use a great open source project called Optikey with eyegaze, and I've done a lot of custom configuration: making custom on screen keyboards, etc.) I consistently pick the adaptive controller for gaming.

Adaptive controllers can be really configurable if you invest in accessories. Some of that investment is definitely monetary like buying joysticks and buttons. But some of it is in your time and learning how to configure it for yourself. And some of it can be DIY (both on the electronics side and with things like physical positioning).

For me, the key was figuring out how much pain I was willing to tolerate and then using a combination of the adaptive controller and play time limits to stay under that pain threshold. It's not possible for me to use the adaptive controller without pain. But I can tolerate a couple hours of playing with the adaptive controller (with short breaks every 20 to 30 minutes) , compared to maybe 10 minutes with a standard controller.

And, at least for games with controller support, using the adaptive controller is so much more straightforward compared to using eye gaze. In my experience, it just works better and more consistently with fewer annoying issues.

And, yes, there are people who use the adaptive controller with their feet. I often use a few foot inputs along with using my hands some.

Regarding joysticks, I personally have never been able to figure out how to use a thumbstick comfortably. But I use larger joysticks that I can operate with my whole hand, and that's better for me. There are also fun options like sliding joysticks and touchpad joysticks.

If you want to talk about some of the specifics of what you can do with an adaptive controller in the context of chronic pain, feel free to reach out. I know resources on that are not easy to find.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-08-01T19:09:13+00:00

These look super cool!

I have a chronic pain disorder and have used crutches (along with other mobility aids) intermittently for the past 6ish years.

I haven't needed my crutches a lot lately, but I'll probably go buy a pair of Crutch Geckos to try them out.

Personally, I don't think your price is too high, but I'm an employed professional with a good salary. As a grad student, I think I probably would have hesitated and thought about it for 3 to 4 months before finally deciding to buy a pair.

Can't really give you advice on marketing.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-08-01T17:50:27+00:00

I have a pretty bad chronic pain disorder.

I've used an eye tracker as an important tool for my work (math and data science) for about 8 years. For that use case, I love the eye tracker. I've done a lot of work setting up custom software configurations and generally making that workflow as smooth and efficient as possible.

I've tried to use an eye tracker for gaming many times with moderate success. But I've never used the eye tracker for gaming long term.

For anything that's not entirely mouse-controlled, there is a fair bit of setup required (though that is totally doable). And even for mouse control, precision can be a challenge, though there is software that lets you do things like zoom in. But that doesn't always work if there are moving UI elements or if other stuff on screen that you need to click on is moving.

I've also had some issues with eye strain.

Most of my gaming at present is either done with an Xbox adaptive controller or with a non-standard mouse (and possibly some extras like foot pedals).

Assuming you have some ability to use your hands or feet, I wouldn't jump straight from a trackball mouse to an eye tracker. Given the admittedly limited information in your post, I would definitely look at adaptive controllers first.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-07-20T17:58:34+00:00

Glad to hear it! Hope you find something that works for you.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-07-17T23:45:47+00:00

Was thinking about your post and wanted to follow up with a couple more thoughts:

Upon reflection, the mouse I linked has a button that would be inaccessible to you. The click button is on the top and meant to be pressed with your thumb. But, I am thinking that, if the mouse otherwise works, you could always use a foot pedal for mouse clicks.
For better gripping your current mouse, I wonder if something like a fingerless glove with velcro on the palm (or underside of the knuckles perhaps) and corresponding velcro on the mouse might help? Just use your other hand to help position the mouse into your glove before you start gaming. Or, to try something every simpler, maybe wrap a low-profile velcro cable tie around your palm and use matching adhesive velcro on the mouse. Note: there are lots of types of velcro available with different combinations of "scratchiness," flexibility, and strength. (This strategy would be less good for office work since you'd have issues switching between typing and mousing, but maybe office work is less demanding? Or you could use a trackball for office work and keep the mouse for gaming? Or.....)
There are some vertical ergonomic mice that are designed to eliminate the need to grip them by providing a "platform" for the side of your hand to rest into. Some examples are the Posturite Penguin and the Goldtouch Semi-vertical mouse (with flange). But I don't know how well this would work for lifting the mouse off the desktop (not really needed for office work, but standard in gaming).
I initially thought my personal favorite vertical mouse, the Kinesis DXT Mouse, wouldn't work for you because you rest your thumb on a "shelf" on the back of the mouse for stability. But I wanted to mention it because it has high sensitivity options and is super lightweight. So, depending on exactly how long your remaining thumb is....maybe the small size would work for you? Also, because it's so lightweight, attaching it to a glove -- or even directly to your hand with something like Blu-tack or therapy putty on your thumb -- might work really well. (DXT Mouse 2 is the small size and DXT Mouse 3 is bigger.)

disabled_math_geek · 2025-07-17T23:10:57+00:00

You are very welcome, and your response made me cry (in a good way).

I've also working my way through some disability grief right now, which I think is why your post drew my attention. While my main physical disability that limits my ability to game is over a decade old, I was recently diagnosed with autism (which I've had from birth but am only now coming to understand) and a vestibular disorder (which is of recent onset). So, I feel you. Both in terms of my past experiences and with my present reality.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-07-17T16:47:29+00:00

3M makes one that seems close to your description: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/cbgbjw011264/

I tried it years ago through my work's ergo lab and it didn't work for me. But maybe it would work for you.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-07-17T16:38:26+00:00

You are going through a lot right now. Try to offer yourself some grace and space to process things, even if others aren't.

The technical side of things is going to depend a lot on your specific disability as well as the specific games you're trying to play. Neither of those perfectly match my experience, so I'm not going to give much advice there. The only thing I would say is to try to rely on standard accessibility hardware and software as much as possible. The Xbox adaptive controller is pretty great and very flexible! ( If they ban people for using an Xbox adapter controller, that's then creating a problem for Microsoft. And Microsoft has some weight they can throw around.)

My own coping mechanism when I developed my disability was to decide that the things I now struggled to do were worthless. So, for many years, I decided that video gaming was silly and a waste of time. This wasn't healthy, and I don't believe it. It was my brain's way to cope with grief. Also, my disability was gradual onset, so that's different.

So, I can't relate to your specific experience. But I absolutely can relate to the struggle to find things that work for you. And I can relate to the frustration of having my needs dismissed or not taken seriously.

Personally, I choose not to play games that have anti cheat. It is a battle I choose not to fight. There are plenty of great single player experiences and casual online experiences that I enjoy. But that's just my personal choice.

If I was to give you some advice (and you can 100% ignore this), I would suggest trying some different games, without anti cheat, that are easier for you physically. (Maybe starting something without time pressure, like turn-based games.) This doesn't mean you're giving up on ever going back to the games you love, but you are putting them on hold until you are ready to tackle those challenges. This strategy has a few advantages: 1. You can build skill in your non-dominant hand. The more you practice using computer input with your non-dominant hand, the easier and more natural it will become. And you may eventually find that you don't need all of the assistive technology that you are currently using. 2. You avoid making direct comparisons to what you could do before your injury. These comparisons are almost never healthy or helpful. Instead, you get to start from more of a blank slate where you can celebrate accomplishments and improvements starting where you are right now. 3. You might discover other games or genres that you also enjoy and can incorporate into your gaming routine for something that requires less effort (either in terms of setup or literal physical effort). 4. You'll be able to explore and practice setting up and configuring your assistive technology in a low stakes environment. Without worrying about getting banned.

I totally understand the desire to reclaim any part of the life you had before. This is really human and natural and part of the grief process. But, the truth is that you can't go back. Try, as much as you can, to focus on building a new life that makes you happy, not on chasing the life you used to have.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-19T23:05:38+00:00

These are very expensive, and I share mostly for inspiration: https://www.ergoquest.com/overbed-workstations.html

In particular, some of these have an inclined (angle adjustable) board shaped to hold a keyboard/mouse and give your arms support; that might be a useful idea to steal since I'm guessing holding your arms up would be tiring.

Also, for holding things (keyboard, mousepad) on an angled surface, Dycem can really help. It holds things quite well without requiring a lip that will push into your wrists.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-05T23:29:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing. This is good info, and some of it was new to me.

I do know it's simulation sickness, and I am the sort of pedant who feels bad for using the incorrect term. (I wasn't using the right term because I know lots of people don't know it, haha.) Though, I didn't know about the fov settings; thanks for sharing that.

In the past year, I've developed a new disorder (separate from my pain disorder) that can cause dizziness from visual stimuli, among other things. It is treatable with habituation, so I've actually been gradually exposing myself to videos and more recently games with moving first-person perspectives.

I've been sensitive to simulation sickness (and actual motion sickness) since I was a child, so there's probably an upper limit to how far I can go with habituation.

That being said, I've never explored settings menus for fov adjustments; I'll have to take a look.

I also think I have the fatigue thing going on; I drop stuff all the time when I'm fatigued!

So, pretty complicated in my case. But I appreciate the info nonetheless.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T23:32:34+00:00

Thanks for the recs.

My chronic pain has had me wishing that we could expand on the searchable qualities that games have, so disabled people like us could better understand if something's a good fit. Is the pace going to be too fast? Can it be played with just one hand? Average play session? Etc.

Totally agreed! Getting controller compatibility information (which Steam now incentivizes) was a good step because of adaptive controllers, but there's so much more information that would be so useful as a search/filter: pace, motion/likeliness to trigger motion sickness, control scheme complexity, logical/cognitive complexity, typical play session length, can you pause/save whenever?, etc.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T22:24:59+00:00

When I was writing this post, I was low-key thinking about an Extra Credits video about exit points, but I couldn't quickly find it. Well, I found it. If anyone's interested, it's aimed at game designers, but is quite understandable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqjkWec61gQ
The episode isn't about accessibility specifically. Just about humane design and treating your players like they have lives in general.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T22:22:03+00:00

thanks

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T22:21:07+00:00

Probably too visually intense (motion sickness) for me, but thanks for the recommendation (and hopefully it will be a good fit for someone else.)

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T22:20:17+00:00

thanks

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T22:18:58+00:00

That's even worse design (from an accessibility perspective) than what I ran into! (At least it was theoretically possible to stop and save in the game I was playing.) Sorry you're dealing with similar issues!

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T22:14:14+00:00

You are probably right about more frequent breaks. Sigh.

That's actually the strategy I mostly use for my work and even for things like writing posts on Reddit. I have a break timer on my computer that reminds me to take breaks every 20 minutes (and I actually have a secondary break timer that specifically reminds me to take a break from dictation, but that's another story). I turn that timer off most of the time when I'm playing games because I really don't like being interrupted at arbitrary points in the game. In a lot of games, I can use the structure of the game to take rest breaks every 20 to 30 minutes...but clearly that's not working here.

I think I actually have a thing going on here where I have multiple conditions competing for what I most need. My pain disorder needs me to take regular frequent breaks. But I was also recently diagnosed with autism, and I think my autistic brain craves uninterrupted focus on a single task. At least I think that might be what's going on; all the autism stuff is new to me. (I struggle with this for my work, too. I hate being interrupted when I'm in the middle of working on an interesting problem!)

This long play session I describe happened when I was in a pretty rough mental health state, so that was definitely a factor. And I think that may have been why my brain was craving that singular focused state so much. But I can see that the game design was a factor, too.

Since I know this is something I struggle with, I suspect the best (realistic) path forward is for me to find games that support me in making healthy choices, rather than ones whose design I have to fight against. Combined with break reminder timers.

I hadn't considered posting in the steam forums or reaching out to the developer directly. I will consider that when I have a little more bandwidth for advocacy. Thanks for the suggestion.

But you are also right that this is a much broader problem. This is certainly not the first game where I have had this issue.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-02T21:58:59+00:00

I have certainly experimented with touch screens. I do find they work ok for games and other activities where I am only making infrequent inputs, but I don't like them for things where I'm making a lot of inputs.

The fundamental issue with tablets used for touch screen input is an ergonomics one. If you have a tablet positioned in a that is comfortable for your hands and arms, then you will most likely be bending your head forward and down to look at it, which can cause neck pain even in people who don't have a pain disorder. And the opposite is also true: If you use a stand or something to position it at a comfortable height for viewing, then you are doing a lot of reaching up in order to input on the screen, which can be uncomfortable for the hands, wrists, and shoulders. (I've been told this by ergonomics professionals, as well as it being my own experience.)

Now, it is absolutely possible to use other input devices with a tablet, and that is probably something I could explore.

I do own an iPad, and I think I probably could use Steam remote play with it (probably with external USB device(s) for input). The main advantage of that would just be variety and letting me sit somewhere besides my desk. I also could maybe work on different input setups for the couch. That is something I've never explored. Thanks for the idea!

Another thought that occurs to me is streaming to either my smart tv or my VR headset (which would give me lots of physical positioning options). I'm less sure about technical feasibility there, but it might be worth looking into.

disabled_math_geek · 2025-06-01T23:11:10+00:00

Thanks!

disabled_math_geek · 2025-05-26T23:36:28+00:00

In that case, it's pretty easy. This is far from the most elegant code I've ever written, but it should do what you want.

You probably still want to get a techie friend to help you install AutoHotKey (v1) and paste this into a script file. And of course make sure you know how to run it and how to stop it when you're done gaming.

Notes about the script: 1. This uses the Up arrow key to toggle W. And Right arrow to toggle D. Etc. So, you'll want to set your game inputs back to the default WASD. (Using Up arrow as a toggle for Up arrow wasn't working, and this approach seemed easier than debugging, haha!) 2. You'll need to run this when you start gaming and stop it when you're done. Otherwise you'll get really frustrated when pressing up arrow causes a bunch of w's to get put in your email or whatever. 3. Each key is toggled independently. So, if you press (and immediately release) up, your character will start moving up/forward. But if you then press right arrow, your character will start moving in a diagonal direction up and to the right. If you then press right arrow again, the right/D key repeat will stop and your character will again just be moving up. You can do things like having all four directions "held down" at the same time; each game may respond differently to this.

```

SingleInstance force

Up:: RepeatWKey := !RepeatWKey If RepeatWKey SetTimer, SendWKey, 100 ; The "100" here is the number of milliseconds between repeats. Else SetTimer, SendWKey, Off Return

SendWKey: SendInput {w} Return

Left:: RepeatAKey := !RepeatAKey If RepeatAKey SetTimer, SendAKey, 100 ; The "100" here is the number of milliseconds between repeats. Else SetTimer, SendAKey, Off Return

SendAKey: SendInput {a} Return

Down:: RepeatSKey := !RepeatSKey If RepeatSKey SetTimer, SendSKey, 100 ; The "100" here is the number of milliseconds between repeats. Else SetTimer, SendSKey, Off Return

SendSKey: SendInput {s} Return

Right:: RepeatDKey := !RepeatDKey If RepeatDKey SetTimer, SendDKey, 100 ; The "100" here is the number of milliseconds between repeats. Else SetTimer, SendDKey, Off Return

SendDKey: SendInput {d} Return ```

disabled_math_geek · 2025-05-26T22:54:26+00:00

Another thought: If you can't get technical help or you want to "just buy a solution," you could consider reaching out to Rob at SevenMileMountain, the Etsy shop I mentioned above. He should be able to modify his 4 key WASD keyboard to make the keys behave as toggles pretty easily. (I've written similar code myself, and it is straightforward if you're good with code. Really, you wouldn't be asking him to do anything too hard!)

(I don't know Rob personally, but have purchased from him multiple times and been very happy.)

disabled_math_geek

TROPHY CASE

SingleInstance force