This last month I have been on a computer keyboard journey. Do you have a favorite keyboard that you use? It turns out I do, and it is a really good example of the fact that most people, whether neurodiverse or not, have a favorite computer keyboard.
If you have never switched keyboards you might not realize all of the things that are in play when it comes to a computer keyboard and what it can affect.
I was not aware of all the variables until I landed on this journey three months ago. Full story included in this article.
The best keyboard is the one that suits your individual needs and preferences. Consider factors like your typing style, whether you prioritize comfort or performance, and your budget when making a choice.
Key Components of a Good Keyboard
- Switch Type:
The type of switch:
-
- mechanical
- membrane
- scissor-switch
Significantly impacts typing:
-
- feel
- sound
- responsiveness
- Keycap Quality: Contributes to typing comfort and durability.
- material
- profile
- legends
- Build Quality: A sturdy keyboard with a solid base provides stability and longevity.
- Ergonomics: prevent strain and discomfort
- keycap angle
- wrist rest
- adjustability
- Layout: based on your space and preferences
- full-size
- tenkeyless (TKL)
- compact
Additional Features
While not essential for everyone, these features can enhance your typing experience:
- Backlighting: Useful in low-light conditions.
- Macro keys: For shortcuts and automation.
- Wireless connectivity: Offers flexibility and cable management.
- Durability: A keyboard should withstand daily use.
Preference or Accommodation
With this conversation about keyboards, I want you to think about if this is a preference or if this is an accommodation.
This is a question asked by businesses every day around neurodiversity and the tools necessary for someone to be their most productive.
Preference describes a liking for one thing over another. It’s a choice or selection based on personal taste, opinion, or desire.
Accommodation has a few different meanings:
- Adjustment: It can mean adapting to a situation or making changes to accommodate someone’s needs.
- Agreement: An accommodation can be a compromise or settlement between parties with different viewpoints.
- Lodging: This is the most common meaning, referring to a place to stay, such as a hotel room, apartment, or house.
The key thing to remember about the words we choose is that all words have different meanings to different people and societies. It can’t be helped, and everyone needs to have an awareness of that translation difference.
If you are an employee working with your employer on having the preferred tools for you to be the best team member for their organization having a conversation about preferences and accommodations can be very helpful. It is all about how people receive a request.
Does it feel like a demand, or does it feel like a giving? Bringing this back to our keyboard conversation and something I work often with clients is, knowing what your preferences are and being able to communicate and enroll others in teaming up to resolve the difference between your preferences and the existing system.
As promised the story of my keyboard journey–
I noticed some months ago that I started to have problems with my typing. I was really misspelling words a lot more. My brain didn’t feel that off, so I was thinking it might be something else.
One day I noticed that a bunch of the letters on my keyboard were missing. I had typed them right off.
I looked into buying new stickers, but I know that would change the top of the keys and my fingers might not be able to slide the way they do now and that would be an issue. I found a skin with really large letters. Brilliant I thought, but I knew it would have a texture, but maybe that wouldn’t matter.
I solved the problem. Look at those letters. But the rubber cover made it really hard to slide my fingers across the keys. And it turns out it is not my fingers with the issue.
It is the fact that I have some fingernails and I like those, but they don’t play nice with the rubber cover. I was having to lift my hand a lot more and all of my fingers, my typing got slower, and it meant that at times I could not type as fast as I was thinking and I was starting to forget what I was trying to say.
It was Prime Days by this time and I thought heck ya, I will buy a new keyboard, something smaller that fits in my spot better. And I thought why not try something that has some color, maybe that would help. The keys are not rubber, this should do it.
I think I made it through four days of the slowest typing I had ever had. I could not see the letters on a bunch of important keys because it was black text on black keys. What to do?
I went to the craft store and bought a white paint pen and painted on the letters with the pen on all of the dark keys.
While typing up a blog the fight ended, and the original keyboard was brought back from the closet and replaced with the multi-color new keyboard. The letters were painted on the keys and I can tell you that the blogs were written much faster than they were happening before.
What I now know and learned about myself is that I don’t have great muscle memory for where the keys are on a keyboard, and I look at the keyboard many times when typing.
They are micro-second looks and I wasn’t even aware of it until the letters on the keyboard started to disappear.
My fingers need to float across the keys. It needs to make some sound, or it just feels off. I learned that my arms need to be straight out in front of me, or my shoulders start to hurt from slouching more.
I also learned that what might seem like a small change can greatly change my flow and process, which can bring out my challenges with spelling and grammar even more.
I prefer this keyboard. Is that an accommodation or a preference?
What is the difference between that and having the right dictation software, or spell-check software?
It’s something to think about.
Feel free to share this article with your HR department and help them to have a different perspective on people’s preferences.
Send me photos of your super-productive keyboard. I would love to see them and celebrate you.
Enjoy your typing and talk soon,
JoyGenea