Very interesting blog, written by a woman supposedly in a persistent vegetative state. Well worth reading....
I am writing this from the 'other side of the coin' so to speak. I am writing this with adaptations I and others made long ago. If not for this clear writing, it could be said that I was mentally impaired.
First, just what is it I am doing? I am using the pointer finger of my left hand to hit and press letter keys to spell words that I organize into sentences. We then get into paragraph and essay construction that I learned in grade school.
Typing on the computer wasn't instant. Before I could hunt out letters on a keyboard, I had to find them on a communication board. Blinking 'yes/no' for a letter was many years ago, and is where finding and identifying a letter began.
Since I am using only one finger, I must be doing something special to make capital letters and hit multiple keys, like <ctrl> <alt> <del>. Computers come with accessibility features built right in. That particular one is called Sticky Keys. There are many adaptations. This and a lot of computers call the program Ease of Access. An Occupational Therapist in Southern California first set it up for me years ago. It was called something else back then. I don't need all the adaptations now. I just pretty much need the Sticky Keys. (There used to be an important one called Bouncy Keys. What happens on a computer if you hold a key down too long? Too long can be a whole second. I was getting mmmmmaanyyy letters.)
With identifying letters, came the ability to sit up and move an arm by having lots of therapy. It was a combination of Speech, Occupational, and Physical therapies. You can't single out one. It's like a pie. If you have a cherry pie, but only single out the cherries, you have a different dessert. (Cherries Jubilee)