Resources for Treating RSI

To the editors:

Dara Horn's piece "God and the CS Student" (Opinion, Feb. 17) discusses RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury). Harvard has a number of resources available to students dealing with this problem. Briefly, if a student experiences pain or numbness in his or her hand, wrist or arm while using a computer keyboard, the student should stop typing, and see a primary care physician at the University Health Services.

The physician will help determine the extent of the problem, and refer him or her to specialists if appropriate, including referrals to Harvard's Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), 496-8707.

The SDRC can assist students in finding typists for short-term projects, refer students to the Adaptive Technology Laboratory to use voice recognition software if long-term relief is needed, and provide other help.

Lastly, the student group Harvard RSI Action provides support and advocacy for students with RSI. The group's home page at http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/RSI provides information about the condition and includes tips for injury prevention. JULIE HASSEL   March 3, 1998

The writer is Special Assistant to the Administrative Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.