Text to speak...

[Wendi]

I am interested in gadgets that will help me communicate as my speech is unintelligible now.

There seem to be so many, some via the computer, some pocket size, even some of the latest
phones will speak, I hear.

Or maybe I just use pen and paper.

Any suggestions? THX

[joelc]

Have you been in touch with your local ALS Association?
They usually have an equipment loan closet and can provide all you need.

First thing to do is to be in contact with your OT as they are the ones that usually make the recommendation for equipment.

And you are correct, there are lots of devices that will work, your OT can help narrow the list down.

[Ellamay]

In BC our speech therapist was able to request a Dynawriter for my husband thru the ALS society. It did take awhile to receive it but now that he has it we are communicating better. :)

[Peg B]

Hi,

For a free text to speech program try readplease.com and click on DOWNLOAD for Readplease 2003 the free version. It will also load a more recent version (30 day demo) but you can keep the free version forever. It will speak in a computer voice anything you write into it. If you are able to use the computer you can use this.

I used it with many students so they could do some proofreading of their own papers even though they had difficulty reading and writing. Best Wishes, Peg

[Jennifer51]

Thanks for that link it is one I had not found...do a search on this dorum and you will find more.
The best (for me) I have found is ETRILOQUIST ....... free and very easy to use, add and save your own text or voice messages. another free one to read any text including reading out webpages and emails to others..beats asking someone to come and look over your shoulder to show someone something you may have found is...NATURAL READERS...the personal version is free. Both come with standard voices but you can add your own paid voice if you want to. I also had an IPAQ handheld computer which is small and lights up when in use, I find that usefull when I go to bed and husband speaks to me. No voice but it lights up the notepad so we can see in the dark. If you have a nintendo ds lite, there is also a message send part to that. Of course most of these things require some usefull use of hands and fingers, but at least with the ones downloaded onto a small computer (I have a 10 inch netbook) you can add other programmes like eyegaze. Please try whatever they have on loan, I tried the litewriter and wonder how on earth they charge so much for it, if you were to buy one. They have a place but I personally did not like it, some people love them.

[dsiple]

I would take into consideration the methods of inputting data into what ever type of device you decide to get. For me, it was very simple since I had no use of my hands when I got my DynaVox. Also, Medicare will not pay for a laptop, since it is technically a computer, personally I think they should because the cost of a good laptop is a fraction of what a DynaVox Vmax costs, and you can purchase the software for about $45.00 to unlock your device giving you access to MS Windows anyway, so why go to the added expense?

My DynaVox has even given me the ability and freedom to work from home testing software for a company in Philly. It is nice feeling that you have some worth and are a contributing member of the work force again.:)

[JamesMcC]

ETRILOQUIST I found is good too and is FREE!!!
Thanks
James

[Jennifer51]

Hey James glad you also like it. I had a small quetion for them and they were fast and helpfull in their reply. I sent them an email saying how pleased I was with their product and the service...NIce to give some praise sometimes, and they thanked me for the feedback....and all for nothing...deserves some praise and thanks.

[JamesMcC]

I dont use it yet and hopefully never lol.But its great that they give it free.Saves a lot of money for some people.
James

[Wendi]

Thank you everyone for your replies.
My head was spinning from all the info I had about these things, so good to hear what you think is best. I have contacted my OT and will see what she recommends first and go from there. :-D

[asantiago]

Here is a good site to help you evaluate a couple different options. http://living-with-als.org/equipment/speech/speech.html My best advice would be to try to think long term. If your insurance would approve something like the Erica device I would try for that because ultimately it will be the device you could use the longest. The MDA may have a device for you that you can have for free to use. I would start there for your immediate need but look into getting yourself something new that fits your needs the best. The devices from the MDA can be outdated there is so much new technology out there and if you have insurance it would be good to get one of your own, the more devices available for ALS patients the better.

[JamesMcC]

Can anyone give mean idea on what devices are covered by Medicare and their opinions on the best device .Thankyou
James

[trfogey]

I am interested in gadgets that will help me communicate as my speech is unintelligible now.

There seem to be so many, some via the computer, some pocket size, even some of the latest
phones will speak, I hear.

Or maybe I just use pen and paper.

Any suggestions? THX

Hi, Wendi.

If you still have good use of your hands, there are a lot of text-to-speech options available to you using laptop computers or tablet computers. If you can give us some more details about what kind of computers you have available to you, I'll be glad to give you some alternatives to help you get by until you get a more specialized device.

[Wendi]

Thanks!
I have a laptop, a mac MacBook. My son is pretty handy figuring out stuff but I do need to know what is available.

[trfogey]

Thanks!
I have a laptop, a mac MacBook. My son is pretty handy figuring out stuff but I do need to know what is available.

Ouch, I'm not a Mac expert. From what I've seen on other forums, the text-to-speech software of choice for Mac seems to be Proloquo by a company called AssistiveWare. The price is a little steeper than I had hoped (about US$300).

However, I did find the following on the Apple accessibility website:

Text to Speech

If you don’t use a screen reader but have trouble reading text on your computer screen, you can have your Mac “speak” the text you select. To turn Text to Speech on, open System Preferences, click Speech, then open the Text to Speech pane. You can even set up a keyboard shortcut to initiate Speech.

As an alternative, you can select text you want your Mac to speak, then choose Speech from the application’s Services menu.

I don't know how the default Mac voice sounds, but it looks like the alternative method above might get you started with text-to-speech until we can dig up a Mac expert around here. Maybe you could type what you want to say in a text editor or word processor and use Services --> Speech option to read it out.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you. I'm a PC/Windows/Linux guy and have done a lot of research on text-to-speech systems for those platforms. Never had a Mac, so I'm a clueless newbie on them.

[Wendi]

Thank you so much for your assistance, it all helps. I have found someone on another site that is a Mac expert... oh my head is spinning! So between you and her and my son I may get somewhere!
We don't realize until we lose it... our speech... what a loss, always been a chatty person, hard to be silent!
I don't look too far ahead.

[Wendi]

I have downloaded My VoiceX it is free and is compatible with Macs, for any other mac users...

wow... to have a voice!:-D

[sandrams]

I have no speech now. I am a good typist so I bought the Asus 901 eee PC netbook computer which weighs 2.5 pounds and costs $250. Then added software you can download from the web called NextUp Talker for $100 and high quality voices from Nuance from NextUp's website for $50. So for about $400 I have a lghtweight WiFi computer that talks and does not sound like a robot. I chose a voice that ressembled my own. For loudness I add a little external speaker. I can even use it on the phone if the other person is patient.
The setup has the advantage of also being a functional computer. Get Windows XP version of the netbook.
Sandra

[Thorsen]

Most portable device is the iphone. Download the free application called Speak It! and away you go. I've got Bulbar onset ALS so I'm still getting around but not talking too well. You can save many phrases in the Speak It! ap and even make phone calls with prepared phrases for emergencies.

Apple lap tops are also pretty good. The Text Edit application has a feature that allows you to have text that you type spoken.

[BethU]

DynaVox has a new hand-held computer/speech device, weighs 1.5 pounds. Think it's called the XPress, or something like that. They just sent me an announcement, but I haven't checked it out, as I have the DynaVox Max and a Light/Writer for portability.

Knowing DynaVox, it's bound to be very, very pricey.

[BarryG]

Hello Thorson, welcome to the forum. Can you tell me how loud the iphone with SpeakIt is? Is it loud enough without having to have a separate speaker? I have a Dynavox Palmtop and it is OK and has good clear sound but it is bulky because of the big speaker that they put onto the back of the otherwise very slim Dell PDA. Does SpeakIt have word prediction?

[Jennifer51]

Another little tip that may prove useful. I do find that in a room full of people, whatever system you use, tends to get lost as the volume cant compete. (and by the time you have typed the conversation has moved on.)
We just bought an inexpensive lead, goes from my netbook to the tv, so everyone can see me typing and read on the tv screen, sound also comes out of the tv. It is an SGVA 15HD M to M Cable plus 3.5 mm audio jack plug. You can buy them in a variety of lengths to suit. You can also surf the web with your pc but look on the tv screen...good if you are looking for something with someone else. Available online or in computer stores.

[Tich1]

I use a lightwriter for speaking directly in the same room as the person , but I'm desperate to get something that will enable me to "speak"
on the phone . x

[BarryG]

Tich, the low-tech solution is to get yourself a speaker phone and then just use whatever device you use to "speak" to people face to face. I use my netbook, an external speaker for added volume and clarity and the NextUp Talker program (or Etriloquist). It is slow, only because I am not a fast or accurate typist, but it does work.

[BethU]

I, too, use the LightWriter for face to face conversations, and the DynaVox Max for phone conversations. I use a male voice on the DynaVox for clarity ... the female voices are not that easy to understand.

[t34gib]

I have a Freedom Lite with Words+, basically a netbook sized computer with software and speaker attached. Quite loud if I need it. For out and about I got an Iphone with Prologo2go installed. Works quite nicely. But I am a very quick typer and texter.
NancyS

[t34gib]

one more thing, with the Iphone I have a case that also is a speaker. Works fine.

[jrumley]

There is a new IPhone application that will allow you to type to speak. My Father uses the Dynavox with the retina scan and I have been really impressed with it.

[BarryG]

I have a Freedom Lite with Words+, basically a netbook sized computer with software and speaker attached.

Nancy, when I googled the Freedom Lite, I got a webste that had a price of over $8000! I know that companies like to make a profit off of those of us that can't speak for ourselves but that price is ridiculous for something similar to what I put together for about $600. It is like my DynaVox Palmtop3 that has a price of over $5000, they take a $400 Dell Axim PDA, slap a rubber housing and speaker on it and add the software. The software must be really special to add that much to the price.

It is a good thing (or maybe not) that many of us get coverage for this overpriced stuff through insurance or government plans. It reminds me of the time that I phoned for a price for a new windshield and was asked whether I was paying for it or if insurance was paying. I asked why it mattered and the guy told me "If you are paying for it will be $100 and if insurance is paying it will be $400". Whatever the market will bear I guess.

[t34gib]

You are correct. It is very expensive. When we went for the evaluation I took my daughter with me and she said the very same thing to the sales rep. She could build it for me quite easily and even he said the software would be about 650.00. I am lucky that my insurance paid for 60% and MDA contributed 2000.00. That still left me with about 1200 to pay. I thought it was way too much as the rep had told me he could get it for me with low cost. I explained this to the company and ended up paying around 600 out of pocket. It is a very good machine and a regular computer with a loud speaker on the bottom. Way overpriced even with the R&R built in. If I had to pay the full 1200 I would not have done it as I could have done something else. And they wonder why we question needing a health care program. The amounts that the company's can squeeze us for is outrageous and they know that losing your ability to speak can set you in a panic.
I am able to use it for work, but even with it, my boss has decided I need to be able to speak to do my job as a bookkeeper. There is no rhyme or reason to any of this.
I use my Iphone more often. i type in my deli order for the grocery store and just show it to the lady behind the counter. Or type my lunch order or whatever.
Just another bad thing to deal with as if we don't have enough. I am glad to have it and can't imagine how it was for people before having all this tech stuff to help us out. So, I don't know. We do what we have to. And they get away with doing whatever they want to.