Method for enhancing text entry rate with single-switch scanning

Single-switch scanning is a technique used by some individuals for spoken and/or written communication. We developed a method for adjusting the settings in a single-switch scanning interface to increase a user's text entry rate (TER). We evaluated that method with nine individuals who use single-switch scanning to communicate. Text entry rates improved by an average of 120% (p = 0.003). All nine subjects increased their TER by at least 40%, and five of the nine increased their TER by over 100%. At baseline, TER averaged 1.42 words per minute (wpm), ranging from 0.28 to 2.92 wpm. With the revised settings, TER averaged 2.72 wpm and ranged from 1.12 to 6.51 wpm.