Will iOS ever support a USB mouse?

The iPad does not have a cursor. So there would be no use for a mouse.

OK, the obvious fact is that being only your fellow users, no one here knows what Apple might do in the future. They would have to radically change their design philosophy for iOS, but none of us can say that it's not possible at some point. If you want to comment to Apple, you can do so via their feedback pages:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

But since at least for the foreseeable future iOS will not have mouse support, some other product would probably be a better choice for you. If an Android tablet does what you need, I'd suggest purchase one of those.

Regards.

If you can make your sip and puff mouse work through a Bluetooth connection, for example with some type of an adaptor, that may work. Apple's own mice and keyboards will interface with the iPad through Bluetooth, so it is worth a try to see if you can make yours work too.

Apple's mice do not work with an iPad, via Bluetooth or any other connection. iOS does not support mice or any mouse-type device.

iOS does not have the notion of a pointer (at the software level; as a matter of fact, you may have noticed that many JavaScript features related to mouse movements don't work on it -- there's simply no notion of it in the OS). For this reason, it's unlikely that a conventional mouse will ever be supported.

That said, iOS has a feature called "AssistiveTouch" that is intended to address how a person with limited mobility can make gestures on the device. Apple's documentation seems to imply that there are groups that make devices that interface with AssistiveTouch, so, potentially there's an adapter similar to your sip-and-puff mouse that can be used -- though I'm personally unfamiliar with such things.

You might want to contact Apple customer support by phone, or, better yet, the Christopher Reeve Foundation which provides considerable expertise in this area and can let you know how others with spinal chord injuries are using the iPad (the iPad is mentioned on their website).

Good thoughts, JD. Spurred by your comments, I did some research and found a number of possibilities. The InDATA/Easter Seals' web site has a number of resources listed:

http://www.eastersealstech.com/content.aspx?pId=554

though I don't see any that specifically address the OP's particular issue. If contacted they may have additional suggestions. R.J. Cooper also has a number of resources:

http://www.rjcooper.com/site-map/index.html#ipad

And a Georgia Tech student has adapted a sip-and-puff system to the iPhone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB1D39O3mp4

Something similar could probably be done for the iPad, though there's nothing off the shelf I can find.

Also, with iOS 6, the new iPad will get Siri which will almost certainly help a lot of people, though we'll have to see what specific functions are available.

So a number of potential avenues in addition to the ones you mentioned.

Regards.

Bluetooth keyboards are already supported on iOS.

I am delighted to hear that AssistiveTouch works to well for you, @quadriplegic32. I will keep that in mind if I meet someone who needs similar capability.

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It is actually possible to have both an bluetooth mouse & keyboard synced to an iPad2. I have a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse attached to mine and they work fine together.

Unfortunately this is not possible with and iPad2 out of the box, and this being an Apple forum, I'm not trying to advocate JB your iPad.

But I just wanted to put it out there that it is definitely possible. 😉