I remember when telephones hung on the wall. They had a cord connecting from the receiver to the base unit. Some were set on side tables in the family room. I never experienced interacting with a rotary telephone. When the caller had to spin a dial multiple times in order to make a phone call. My first interactions with a telephone were when they had single buttons for each number. The tiles indicating each number could be different sizes. Depending on the specific phone chosen for the home. This was happening before cordless phones became the trend. I recall growing up when we had both a corded and cordless phone. Happening before we entered the age of car phones, then on to cell phones. The cordless phone was easier to use, as I could hold the receiver in my hand, and punch the numbers with my thumb. Even though the tiles were a little small on the receiver I had the ability to make it work. Living my life with cerebral palsy I have often found myself attempting to do just that, make things work. Using my hands and more specifically my fingers has been one of, if not the, biggest challenges of daily life. Working with the phone might have been my first major experience with my finger challenge. Working the phone was quickly followed by trying to work a television remote. Buttons of any kind have never really been my friend. The small and closer together those buttons get, the deeper my disagreement.
Living with cerebral palsy can bring about many challenges. Reaching for a glass of water or reaching to press any kind of button have been among the most challenging. The raised tiles on a telephone were one of my first experiences with the challenge. Trying to dial anyone up on the phone was a task taking me longer than most. My wrist and fingers would slightly tremble, as I concentrated on landing my finger on each correct number. The process could end up being an interesting exercise. Especially, back when we had to punch in the entire phone number to make a call. We didn’t yet have a contact list on our phones enabling us to touch a name. During these years I had to be cautious by watching my finger closely. I would hang up the telephone quickly if I thought there was a possibility I had tapped the wrong number. Even when punching in the entire number feeling like I had done it correctly. I would find myself waiting in fear as the ringing continued. Worried until I heard a familiar voice on the other end that maybe I had touched a number wrong. The sensation went on inside for years. Not wanting to tell someone about the feeling because I wanted my independence. Then, one day a new phone arrived in the kitchen to change my perspective.
The shaking of my hands and fingers couldn’t be explained for years. The reasoning always coming down to having cerebral palsy, but I wondered further. I thought there might be a more specific explanation. The concept of an intention tremor might not totally explain the trembling in my hands. But I remember discovering the term not long after I started writing this blog. The definition of the intention tremor is a slow tremor of the extremities that increases on attempted voluntary movement. When I first read this definition, the words hit me as the best explanation for how I feel when reaching for something specific. Especially happening when I’m experiencing any kind of nervous energy. Lending itself to happening when I would have been trying to enter something specific and consequential, like a phone number. When the new telephone appeared on the wall in the kitchen, my heart felt relief. I had never seen anything with larger buttons in my life. The square tiled for each number looked multiple time larger than the buttons on the previous phone. The first thing I thought was how much easier it was going to be when punching in a telephone number. When this phone arrived on our kitchen wall, I was probably still in high school. Meaning the phone would now be around thirty years old today. Showing how far technology has progressed in my lifetime.
I was excited when I saw the new phone. The number tiles were so big I felt like they couldn’t be missed. Even with the shaking of my fingers, I could hit the large number. The phone with the big number, as I called it, was a part of my life as long as was reasonably possible. The one downfall of the phone was the cord. The family tried helping the shortcoming by finding a longer cord connecting the receiver to the base unit. Providing the phone with extra time of usability. Eventually though, the phone with the large number tiles ran its course. A cordless phone ended up being much more convenient. Having the ability to talk on the phone without being tethered to the base unit. The concept was excellent even if punching the numbers on a small receiver caused some anxiety. Similar emotions have accompanied my interactions with many physical tools over the years. Television remotes have been a major part of my life. Using them sometimes more often than a telephone. I have found consistency in this area through the years. Many of the remotes I have used came from the cable companies. Paired with the boxes they would use when installing cable for the television. I found most were pretty standard even across a variety of cable providers. Allowing me to get used to one, as a young person, then be able to use most of them relatively easily. Then, smart televisions came into popularity, and cable cutting took hold.
The idea of cable cutting was resisted for years. I was used to how my television experience was being done. Part of my propensity toward cable could have been partially because of the remote. The cable companies all seemed to use similar remotes. They had been using similar remotes for as long as I could remember. Making them easier to use from my years spent getting used to using them. When smart television came into my life, so did a new kind of remote. I gravitated toward a specific brand of smart television when I started with them. Since moving to the smart television, I have operated a few of them, all from Samsung. The remotes I’ve used for the Samsung smart television have historically struck me as small. However, when I started using the Samsung remotes the design of them didn’t matter. I was simply using them to power the television. Once I got the T.V. powered up I moved to the cable remote for watching television. For simply turning the power on and off, the remote worked well. The power button was located at the top of the remote making it easily accessed. There were not any buttons around the power tile. Meaning it was unlikely for me to reach for the power and mistakenly depress a different button. I could get the Samsung television turned on and switch to the cable remote without trouble. Everything changed when the decision was made to cut the cable.
When the cable was turned off and we opted for television gained through an app. The role of the Samsung remote significantly changed. Instead of simple giving the television power and shutting it off to end the night. When the television experience went into the app realm, the Samsung remote controlled the entire television experienced. I was using the Samsung remote for doing everything with the television, from turning on the T.V. to finding the program I wanted to watch. At this point, the layout of the remote started becoming trouble. Over time, I found myself struggling with the size of the buttons. They felt small and clustered too close together. The middle of the remote had a button in the shape of a circle. The circle looked the same at every point. Not indicating the buttons inside the circle were located at the top, bottom, left, and right, along the circle. Further challenging was the small diameter of the circle due to the slim width of the remote. The other singular buttons felt squeezed onto the small remote. Taking into consideration my challenges with stabilizing my fingers because of cerebral palsy. Along with the invasion of the intention tremor. The Samsung remote was becoming difficult to navigate. My C.P. challenges leading me to push the incorrect button and commanding the television to switch apps. When in reality I might have simply wanted to turn down the volume. Like so many other physical things in my life. I was resigned to learning how to deal.
I was wrong in being forced to deal with the challenging remote. There was a way of improving my television experience. A remote came along of the universal variety. Like the phone with the large tiles showed up when I was young. The universal remote had big buttons. They were well spaced away from one another. Instead of having a circle in the middle of the remote. Housing buttons around the edges that weren’t designated by anything other than touch. The new remote had large clear buttons in the middle directing me up, down, left, and right. Removing the need to press the imaginary target along the circle of the Samsung remote. The large tiles on the universal remote took away the concern of my intention tremor. Unlike the Samsung remote, the buttons on the new remote were large enough not to worry. I don’t want to sit down and watch television being worried about trembling fingers pressing the button I desire. The thought could be a remote with large tiles would be uncomfortably large. Causing the use of a television remote to be cumbersome. There would be a reason Samsung would make their remotes sleek and slim. Designing them easy to use for much of the population. I would say the larger remote hasn’t become awkward. There hasn’t been a feeling of sacrificing comfort for the larger buttons. The universal remote has felt thoughtfully designed.
I have really liked the new universal remote. The controller has the ability to use all functions on the television. There has been no reason for using two remotes any longer. The Samsung remote that was causing me so much challenge has become unneeded. Not even being used to provide the television with power. The switch in remotes, from the start, had me remembering the wall phone from my childhood. The one that showed up on the wall with the incredibly large buttons. Looking at that phone always brought a sigh of relief. Knowing I could operate that particular telephone without worrying about my disability. The same comforting feeling came over me when I saw the universal television remote. I saw a device I would be able to use with minimal attention. Not having to be careful about hitting the intended tile on the remote. I would be able to just reach for the button without much thought. The size of the tiles would dictate my ability to land on it was highly likely without being careful. The same feeling of relief I experienced with the phone on the wall envelops me when sitting down to watch television. A feeling I rarely experience when using my hands to manipulate objects throughout my days. A large part of my life has involved adjusting to make use of physical objects. Many of them feeling too small for me to be comfortable. Cerebral palsy simply causes this challenge to be part of my world. While my personality makes the challenge something I keep to myself. However, it has always been fun to experience things that really work.
