Communication-Dragon naturally speakng

[hjkangel]

Hi all, Does anyone have experience with the Dragon-Naturally Speaking computer program? We were given a copy that is now downloaded. How hard is it to 'train' and how easy or difficult is its usage. My Dad was diagnosed w/ limb onset ALS 3/10 and is barely walking w/ assistance and has near no usuage of his arms. His voice, however, is still pretty good.

Any thoughts on this?

Heather

 

[JohnKelly]

Dragon works well. I am 5+ years into this, with limb onset. I can't use a keyboard or a mouse, although I can click the mouse if someone sets my hand on top of it. But my voice is clear and I have been using Dragon for two years. It takes some effort and practice to learn it, but the effort is well worth it. My advice is to go beyond the tutorial, and use the help topics to see how much it can do for you. Since the program is really written for able-bodied people to be more efficient, the functions that help us are not necessarily part of the tutorial but are there if you look for them. After a few months, I could do everything that I used to be able to do with a keyboard and mouse, with the exception of "clicking and dragging," which I still haven't figured out. In fact, I think I dictate text about twice as fast as I could type it. But the commands take about twice as long, so in the end it's a wash. I'll be glad to help with any questions you might have about how to use it.

John

 

[hjkangel]

Thanks John. Dad is so frustrated without use of hands/ arms and not much leg strength left either. Next time I see him we'll have a look at the program. A friend was going to look it it w/ him sometime this week too. Dad isn't much of a TV or book guy, but he loves the computer. He's been into geneology in the last couple of years and the internet was really helpful. Dad was a software engineer in his day. Now he is bored and depressed. Here's hoping it'll work.

 

[BarryG]

Heather, sorry to hear about your dad, it is so very hard to adjust to our new reality. Something else that he might find useful is a free program called Camera Mouse. It allows the user to move a mouse by moving his/her head. You set up the program by telling it to focus on a point on your face like the end of your nose or the corner of your glasses and as you move your head the cursor moves around the screen. All you need is a webcam and the program and you are all set. Microsoft has a built in on screen keyboard and the user can move the cursor and select keys by pausing on them. It can also be used for web surfing. Do a search for Camera Mouse and download it, I have and while I don't need it yet, I have practiced with it.

Barry

 

[ZenArcher]

I agree with Barry. Camera Mouse is a useful program at the right price (free).