AAC devices

[ronwv]

Mom is ready to get a comm. device and the speech/audiologist had a PRC Eco device to try.
The Dynavox was talked about, but one wasn t avail to try.

Any input on pros/cons of any of these (or others) would be great.

Word Power was mentioned as the best software.
What say the PALS? :smile:

 

[Al]

There are 5 threads at the bottom of this page on the subject. New members quite often don't scroll all the way down and miss good information.

AL.

 

[ronwv]

There are 5 threads at the bottom of this page on the subject. New members quite often don't scroll all the way down and miss good information.

AL.

Ive seen the threads( although I didnt see 5) . Ive also searched on "AAC devices", "communication devices".
Im hoping to get more specific than what Ive seen. I just thought that there would be some opinions on one device vs. another, pros and cons of specific devices, etc.

 

[BethU]

Hi, Ronwy ... I'm still fighting the DynaVoxVmax which was delivered last November, so I can't give you much comparison with other units.

First let me note, however, that IMHO the people who are pushing each brand are probably on commission. I may be slandering a lot of fine therapists, but the only time I've seen a wide array of devices available was at an ALS forum I went to last summer where they had a roomful of vendors.

When I went for my speech therapy "evaluation," they only had DynaVox models to show, and it was all explained to me by the manufacturer's rep, not the therapist, who sat back and watched the whole thing. Sounds like the same thing happened to you, when DynaVox was "not available" for review.

I picked the most expensive model with the most possibilities down the road. This is adaptable to eye-gaze technology eventually, so I suppose that is good. However, this thing is heavy (14 lbs), with more wires and peripherals than you could possibly carry around ... keyboard, telephone adapter, other stuff.

All I want it for at this point, since my legs are not too badly affected yet, is talking on the phone. I made a few test phone calls, which were very promising (I picked a woman's voice with a cool British accent .... oh, my, she sounds like cashmere feels! Next, I'll try Clint Eastwood's voice, if he's available.) But then the device went kaplooey ... could not call up menus, could not turn it off ... nothing. I unplugged everything and it still wouldn't shut off ... it switched over to battery :-( ... so I just waited till the battery ran down. So there it sits until I get another "training" session from the sales rep to get it up and running again.

So ... for everyday conversations, I still rely on my Light/Writer. The people I'm around have learned to read quickly and guess as I type, and we can carry on a conversation ALMOST as fast as two speaking people can. When I HAVE to talk on the phone, I tell people to be patient, then type what I need on the Light/Writer, and hold the receiver to the Light/Writer and push "speak." It ain't elegant, but it works.

FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD, DynaVox is really good. If I ever get mine up and running, I'll give a more informative review! :-D

 

[COlisa]

Ronwy,
Often your local ALS Association and MDA Association will have speech communication devices that you can borrow or at least try.

My husband has been using a LightWriter for about a year and a half and like BethU can actually use it to converse. He likes it much better than DynaWrite because with LightWriter someone across the table can read what you write as you write and it is much more conversational. It was borrowed from ALSA. He also has a DynaVox 4 on loan from MDA loan closet to try out but it is a little too complex for his needs right now.

Good luck.
Lisa

 

[nishant]

Voice Banking

Hi,

Is there a software around which I can use to record phrases and name and other speech in my voice for later use. I tried model talker, but it won't work for me because of my dialect.

Nishant

 

[Jennifer51]

If you have a computer...doh...I guess you must have one to get to the forum...I can recommend e triloquist, which has been mentioned before on this forum. It is free to download, has a record facility, and lots of pre set phrases. You can alter the phrases or add your own. I have pre written a lot of phrases, particularly usefull for the phone, although it does have its own section for that. I also had some queries when I first got it and the people who supply the program were very fast and efficient replying to me. I tried the litewriter, on loan, but found it too small to type on, being used to a full size computer keyboard. so I bought a 10 inch netboook with a 95% full size keyboard. The one dissadvantage versus the litewriter is that people opposite cannot read as you type, they need to look over your shoulder or from the side. The other advantage with a small computer (apart from getting me online almost where ever I am,) is that my speech therapist says she can get eyegaze or similar intstalled whenever I need it