Upper-Body Motor Impairment

Motor impairments affecting the upper extremities — including the arms, hands, fingers, shoulders, and neck — that limit a person's ability to perform tasks requiring fine motor control, gross motor movements, or upper-body strength. Common causes include spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and arthrogryposis. People with upper-body motor impairments may have varying levels of function across different limbs and may experience progressive changes in ability over time. These impairments significantly impact the ability to perform activities of daily living and interact with standard computing devices, driving the need for alternative input methods such as voice control, eye tracking, head-movement input, and brain-computer interfaces.