Communication for bad spellers

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catcaniac

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Dec 11, 2010
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189
Reason
Lost a loved one
Diagnosis
12/2010
Country
US
State
North Carolina
City
Sneads Ferry
Communication is becoming increasingly difficult with my husband. He slurs quite a bit now but he also seems like he has turned his voice volume down to about 1. My question would be, "What is the best communication assist for people with poor spelling and writing skills?" My husband had a learning disability growing up so he really has not done any writing and very little reading as an adult. He gets on Farcebook, lol, on the computer and plays a little World of Warcraft but needs help with both of those on occasion for the reading part. So I wonder how well he would do with some type of computer generated software. He is quite smart though so I think I could teach him to use something as long as it isn't heavily technical. Any ideas on what the best system would be for him to communicate? He pretty much repeats himself two to three times, I get really close to him and I am still at a loss for what he is trying to say. Mostly, I am just guessing at this point. I am very afraid about not being able to understand his needs.
 
Most of the dedicated speech generating software and devices have a preprogrammed phrase function so a single key (that has an icon) can be pressed to say something. These are generally more expensive than just the type to speak programs but they would work for someone who doesn't have great reading or writing ability.
 
I agree with what BarryG said about the options for speech generation devices and software -- preprogrammed icons/buttons are the way to go. And if your husband has trouble reading things on the computer, you could install one of the screen reader programs used by visually impaired computer users. The screen reader software uses a computer voice to read the words on the screen out loud.
 
When my husband is not using his computer..i have sheets of paper with 6 big blocks marked off and numbered..then i put key words in the blocks and all he has to say or mouth is the number..also i have a sheet with the alaphbet on it and i point to lines with 4 or 5 letters so i know he wants the letter on that line so he can spell a word out..works pretty good for us..hope it can help you out too.
 
look into the ipad with proloquo2go app it is amazing andhas pictures so spelling is not an issue then nor reading pretty universal. also FYI to all PALS and CALS when Don was diagnosised we had a friend who taught sign language. a simple hand jester without alot of effort has worked so well for us as a family and gets the point across without alot of frustration or exhaustion. an added benefit my kids now know sign language and can sign themselves which is awesome to see. If you don't have anyone to teach you there are books out there and they are just as helpful as they have pictures and generally an easy reference if you need to find a particular word/phrase.

jodi
 
"Cat" -
Have you looked into the Ablenet23? It is a speech device created for children who can't read yet - might it be an option?QuickTalker Communicator
 
Im on facebook,my voice is GONE,one day a large extrovert,now a poor speller dealing with the same issue,erase pad works good for me,if they have the time to look.I have the IPad also. FB-Ken Hallsworth
My prayers are with my neighbors-----Ken
 
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