Help choosing device for speech

[livefortoday]

I am a new member and a new CALS ,currently helping care for my Mother. She was diagnosed with Bulbar ALS in April, 2012 after months of "treatment" for a stroke. She is actve and mobile, but speech is changing rapidly. We are currently learning to use a "light Writer" for speech . This gadget seems a little old-fashioned. We do like the fact that it can be used for phone and texting. She is 78 years old and caught on really fast with typing short phrases to us. Our speech pathologist seems to think this is the best device for us. Any suggestions on devices for someone not computer savvy? She does not have a computer and never so even the keyboard is foreign to her. We are appreciative of the support and information found on this website.
Thanks
Livefortoday

 

[rachelg]

Hi there.

Sorry to hear about your mum.

If the lightwriter works for your mum then stick with it. What about a mobile phone - does your mum ever use one. There are many text to speech options available.

There are many threads on the site relating to speech devices so if you use the search option you will be able to find lots of info.

For my husband, whilst he could use his fingers he was happiest with pen and pad.

 

[BrianD]

Well, the iPad is also another option that some have liked as well. There is a Speak It app that has had good comments. I'm sure you can try that out by borrowing someone's iPad.

However, the downside with these devices that you have to physically type on is that they won't help once you can't use your arms or hands anymore. This is where the dedicated AAC devices have advantages because they can use eye tracking down the road. Dynavox and Tobii are probably the two most popular. Personally after trying both, I think the Tobii using the Sonokey software easier to understand. One nice thing about that approach is you can use the touchscreen now while the hands work and learn how to use the device. Then if you need to switch to eye tracking later, everything else is the same... not trying to learn a whole new system.

Usually you can try them out on a trial basis. And they are covered by insurance. But depending on how technology resistant your Mom is, they could be a bit overwhelming. But they have a pretty decent interface to hide the computer feel from it.