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Perhaps someone with experience with CP/young children/voice recognition
will respond to you. However, in case no one does, I wanted to share my
experiences with you because they may be of some help. I have used
Dragon Dictate for over 6 years now. My first issue was the old DOS
Dragon. As faster computer hardware and software became available, I
upgraded my system. I am currently working with Dragon Dictate 3.02 and
Dragon NaturallySpeaking on a 200 MMX, 64 RAM machine. Here are some
things to keep in mind:
1) Dragon Dictate is a "discrete" dictation product - requires the user
to leave a 1/10th of 1 second pause between each word. It also offers
complete command/control of all Windows 95 applications. It "reads" the
Menu items of software and responds to the user saying the Menu item.
For instance, saying "File" while in NotePad drops down the File Menu.
I think learning to speak in a "discrete" manner would be very
difficult for a child.
2) NaturallySpeaking is a continuous speech product - no pauses between
words required - dictate words to the computer just like talking with a
human (except you still have to dictate punctuation). There are three
versions of "Nat" - Personal, Preferred and Deluxe. If you wish to
provide your son with the ability to type words on the screen by
speaking them, not full voice control of the computer, then "Nat"
Personal may be the place to start.
3) My next door neighbor has a little girl, age 7 (does not have CP).
Just for fun a few weeks ago, I asked if she would like to learn to talk
to my computer. I was able to set up a voice file for her and we were
able to complete training but it took a lot of effort. The
training/enrollment process requires the person to read a story on the
screen - both of which are aimed at an adult reading level ("3001" &
"Dave Berry in Cyberspace") Since she was not able to read at that
level, I whispered the story to her, 1 phrase at a time, and she
repeated it into the mic., 1 phrase at a time. This process took about
4 hours but I think would be "doable" with your son. (the training can
be "paused" but not actually stopped/shut down in the middle of training
so you can take breaks but you need to finish training before rebooting
the computer)
4) The software requires the user to correct any misrecognitions that
occur when the software is being used. This is how the software
"learns". This seems to be a problem for Sarah (my little neighbor).
She simply doesn't notice when she says "be" and the software types
"the". Perhaps your son would be more motivated and/or perhaps you
could proof his dictation and help him through the correction process
each time he used it.
5) While irregular pronunciation of words, accents, etc., are not a
problem for the software, inconsistency is. For good recognition to
occur the words must be pronounced roughly the same way every time by
the user. I have an Okie accent, for instance, and say "warsh" for the
word that most be pronounce "wash". This is not a problem for Nat
because I always pronounce it "warsh". Is your son's pronunciation of
words consistent? If not, it will be a problem.
6) The box says that it will work on a 133 with 32 RAM - I would
strongly suggest that the minimum requirements be 166 htz with 64 RAM.
I have posted some training tips that you may want to read through and
think if the level of difficulty to do them can be done by your son with
your help. http://idt.net/~edrose19/page9.html
I would also recommend that you set up a voice file for yourself, train
the software and become very familiar/comfortable with it before you
attempt to do this for your son (and/or work with a good VAR).
After raising 4 children, one of whom has severe dyslexia, I am not
about to tell you or any child that something is not possible. I've
seen them all do what I thought would be impossible for them to do but
wanted share some of the possible stumbling blocks so that you could be
better prepared.
Hope this helps,
Rose
Barbara Jordan wrote:
>
> I do not have a voice-user system yet but want to look into one andhave
> some questions. ANy input or ideas anyone has would be helpful.
> I have a son who is 6 and has Cerebral palsy. He is very bright but can
> only use one hand and it is not as coordinated as a fellow 6 year old.
> He can type fairly with one finger but of course is slow and has a very
> hard time using a pencil. I think a dictating system would be great but
> don't know how complicated it is or what age they would work best for.
> I went to a presentation on a system called Drag AND Dictate but the
> vendor did not make it so someone using the product stood up and spoke
> and I asked if this was different from DragonDictate and they said yes.
> Does anyone know where to find the varity of programs availabel. I was
> told that the on the shelf IBM programs would not be good for a childs
> voice nd inconsitancies. Thanks!! Barbara
- Next message: Jonathan Epstein: "Re: Do I Need VoiceController?"
- Previous message: Jonathan Epstein: "Re: Tracking problem with DD3"
- Maybe in reply to: Barbara Jordan: "age range of user"
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