Accessibility · Motor control
Buttons & switches
Large, easy-to-press buttons can stand in for small ones, and switches can be triggered by almost any reliable movement — a head tilt, a breath, a light bite, a foot press. The job is to map a game's actions onto the movements a player already controls.
Large accessible buttons
Oversized, low-force buttons drop the precision and pressure a press demands, so a gross-motor movement can carry the action. They plug into an adaptive controller and map to any input.
- AbleNet Big Red / Jelly Bean ↗ — Classic large, light-touch switches — an oversized target that a whole-hand or gross-motor movement can hit reliably.
- Enabling Devices accessible switches ↗ — A wide range of button and switch sizes, colors, and activation forces to match a person’s strength and reach.
- Large accessible buttons (general) ↗ — Big, low-force arcade-style buttons that map to game actions through an adaptive controller.
Switch kits for controllers
- Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit ↗ — A plug-and-play set of light-touch and large buttons plus variable triggers that expand the Xbox Adaptive Controller.
- Button & switch sets (general) ↗ — Multi-button pads and switch sets for mapping several actions at once.
Alternative activation
When a hand isn't the most reliable mover, the switch moves to the movement:
- Sip-and-puff switches (breath) ↗ — Activated by a light sip or puff of air — an input for players with very limited limb movement.
- Bite switches (mouth) ↗ — A durable switch triggered by a gentle bite, mounted near the mouth.
- Foot switches / pedals ↗ — Move an action to the foot when a hand isn’t the most reliable mover.
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Buttons come in every shape and size — test a few. The right choice depends on the movement a person controls best, and it often takes trying several. An occupational therapist can assess this and match the hardware to the player; our evaluation tools are a good starting point.
Back to motor-control solutions, or see mounts & positioning for placing these controls where they work best.
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