Jtdcftul

The effects of a genetic disorder stated affecting one of my hands. Now it's barely visible and only causes mild discomfort and a slight loss of agility, but upon reaching its final stage my hand will look visibly deformed and I won't be able to move my fingers. This will happen at worst case in around 2-3 years, and if I'm very lucky, it might take 10 or even 20 years (there were confirmed cases with other patients where it lasted that long, but that's very rare). There is no known treatment besides a surgery which will at most have cosmetic effects, but won't restore much if any mobility.

How will this affect my career as a programmer? I started working approximately 8 years ago in the field, and I know that typing speed is by far not the most important thing which makes someone a good programmer, but we often do need to type a lot of code, and losing one hand will drastically limit my typing speed (and cause my remaining hand to tire faster).

I'm right-handed, and fortunately my left hand is the one which is affected. Still, as I use IDEs with mouse and keyboard, I rely a lot on my left hand.

One solution would be to move upwards to management, but as I like coding, I don't like the idea of a purely managerial role where I do no coding. Currently I'm in a senior role where I can delegate tasks to other people, but most of my work does consist of coding, and I like it. I like both my current job and my current company. However, I'll have to adjust for my reduction in typing speed as my condition worsens. My wrist will remain useable, so pressing large keys at the left side of the keyboard (ctrl, shift, etc.) with my left hand will probably remain possible.

Another problem is if something happens with my current company and I have to find another job. Now, for half a year or maybe a year, I will probably still be able to hide my condition, not that I would find such a thing ethical (but "advertising" it in the interview is also not a thing which I know whether it's a good idea). But after that, why would someone hire me if they can find someone of similar skill and experience who has two healthy hands?

I'm in my early thirties and could still learn a new profession, if that would be really necessary (but I would prefer not to).

Are there any among you who are professional programmers and have only one useful hand? Is it possible to adjust, and be an effective programmer with only one hand?

_{I'm a long-time member of this community, but for this question I'll keep up anonymity for the time being}

It need not have a significant impact. Many programmers work with medical issues ranging from quadriplegia, to blindness, to carpal tunnel syndrome. Some programmers have long and productive careers without ever learning to touch type. I personally have found that being able to touch-type reasonably quickly does help my productivity, but after working for 35 years as a developer I've found that I spend way more time reading and thinking than I do typing.

I'd suggest getting in touch with an occupational therapist and start getting up to speed on assistive technologies that will help you maintain your productivity.

Don’t panic - you know yourself how fast the computer world has progressed.

If you do end up find typing too challenging, and others have pointed out keyboards etc, the advances in « speech to text » recognition will probably provide a possible solution.

In fact that type of motivation has been the spark for someone to create the next generation of many things...

Best wishes.

I used to work with a developer who was missing most of his right hand. He had some of his index finger, and a thumb, both very small and weak compared to his good hand, and no other fingers on that hand. This had no obvious effect on his programming ability, and he was regarded as quite talented. He did not try to type with that hand at all. He could move a mouse with it, simply by resting his hand on top and moving his arm muscles, and had a special mouse that he could click in some way that I never quite understood.

He did play minor practical jokes, like shaking hands with the mutilated hand with people who hadn't spotted it, but everyone reckoned that getting some fun out of it was reasonable, giving the limitations it imposed on him.

So I don't think this problem needs to limit your career at all. You'll have to work out some adaptations to it, but problem-solving is what programmers do.

As others have commented, typing speed isn't really that useful for a developer.

That said, it can be useful to keep your eyes on the screen while typing, so you might be interested in using a keyboard that allows you to touch-type with one hand, such as a chorded keyboard or a single-hand keyboard.

I am a web developer, and I lack the use of both hands and wrists due to quadriplegia. You need not fear that losing the use of a hand excludes you from the programming field. As you say, there is much more to programming than typing speed. However, there are difficulties that lead to topics you may need to think about sooner or later.

Disclaimer: My level of ability is very different from your prognosis, so I may see things very differently than you will actually experience them. I am drawing from my own challenges while writing this. I am also from the US.

Assistive Technology and Accommodations

I have actually found programming to be a particularly forgiving occupation for mobility issues. Computers and workstations can be modified in numerous ways. You may find certain equipment helps you, such as an adaptive keyboard or even something as simple as a hand brace. But don't feel required to use them - no solution works for everyone, and things that others (occupational therapists, concerned friends) believe will help might not always actually be useful. For instance, I forgo voice-to-text for programming because I find it clunky for that purpose and speaking disrupts my thought process.

Funding for Assistive Technology

Your employer will likely be willing to assist you by providing reasonable accommodations. (Here in the US, there is a law requiring them to, and I would not be surprised if similar laws exist in many European countries.) If there is an accommodation you require that is not related to your employer but still necessary for you to work, check for the availability of government funding or grants. For instance, if you need adaptive controls for your vehicle so that you can still drive to work, government agencies geared towards helping disabled individuals maintain employment may help you out.

Applying for New Jobs

What I have found to be the greatest help in overcoming employers' perceptions that a lack of mobility will significantly affect your work is having people who know that is not the case and who are willing to recommend you. My brother has been absolutely amazing in helping me out in that way.

Additionally, many programming jobs are remote these days, leading to interviews that are also remote. In such a situation, you could wait to disclose your condition. You are likely not even required to mention it at all, though you may want to in order to request accommodations or avoid questions later.

Wishing you all the best.

From very limited experience (typing while holding a phone in the left hand), if you can't operate shift key etc. with the handicapped hand, that is a significant slow down, but as long as you can operate shift key etc. and can use one hand for typing, it slows you down a bit but not that much.

Since a lot of your time is spent thinking, designing, looking for bugs etc., I would say that with a left hand that is not totally useless you probably still can work at 98% of your normal capacity. You'd still be better than a bad typist.

I spent quite some time looking for an alternative tech to keyboards to improve speed. I found this which is a typing glove, which is used as a keyboard and mouse for a single hand. It is slower than a two handed keyboard but it seems way faster than a single hand keyboard since it can swap from keyboard and mouse instantly.
https://www.tapwithus.com/
It will require some training but it's worth a try.