[OT] -- Voice for Stroke Victims

This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.

My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but it's
affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her speech.

My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems to
be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
"no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
say "You $#%@!".

This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any suggestions
on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a pertinent web
site?

Thanks.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Posting from Google? See http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/

"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" came out in April.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

"Tim Wescott" <> wrote in message
news:...
> This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.
>
> My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but it's
> affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her speech.
>
> My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite good
> at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems to be
> fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
> remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say "no".
> Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to say "You
> $#%@!".
>
> This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
> anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any suggestions
> on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a pertinent web
> site?
>
> Thanks.

Tim,

How about something as simple as a light backed panel with "NO", "YES", and
"FSK OFF" that are selected by separate buttons?

It would be easy to have the button activated box as a hand held. Or you can
put several items up in a panel on a wall with a remote IR (or other tech)
to activate them.

Perhaps with a buzzer or tone that goes off at the same time to direct their
attention to the panel.

Robert

Tim Wescott wrote:
> This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.
>
> My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but it's
> affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her speech.
>
> My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
> good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems to
> be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
> remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
> "no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
> say "You $#%@!".
>
> This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
> anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any suggestions
> on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a pertinent web
> site?


We are not only a smart bunch, but a capable one. Assuming you find
nothing, let's make something. The first pass doesn't need to be
remotely operated. A small box, a few AAA cells, three pushbuttons with
LED readout and a plug for an optional panel above and behind her.
Later, the panel becomes a vocoder chip with a few well chosen words and
phrases. When that works, *then* think about an IR interface. I'd likely
demean you by offering design help, but I'm game if you need it.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Jerry Avins wrote:
> Tim Wescott wrote:
>
>> This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.
>>
>> My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but
>> it's affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her speech.
>>
>> My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
>> good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems
>> to be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
>> remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
>> "no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
>> say "You $#%@!".
>>
>> This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
>> anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any
>> suggestions on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a
>> pertinent web site?
>
>
>
> We are not only a smart bunch, but a capable one. Assuming you find
> nothing, let's make something. The first pass doesn't need to be
> remotely operated. A small box, a few AAA cells, three pushbuttons with
> LED readout and a plug for an optional panel above and behind her.
> Later, the panel becomes a vocoder chip with a few well chosen words and
> phrases. When that works, *then* think about an IR interface. I'd likely
> demean you by offering design help, but I'm game if you need it.
>
> Jerry

How about those Scrolling LED Badges.

The ones I have purchased in the past had PIC processors in them.

Reprogramming one with an IR detector so that it can display
a) pre-programmed messages, b) chars from a IR keyboard.

donald

Tim Wescott wrote:
> This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.
>
> My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but it's
> affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her speech.
>
> My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
> good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems to
> be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
> remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
> "no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
> say "You $#%@!".
>
> This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
> anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any suggestions
> on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a pertinent web
> site?

Until that box is made available, try this on your XP notebook:
Start > Control Panel > Speech > Text to Speech tab >
Type something into the Preview Speech box and click 'Preview Voice'

It is cool.

--Winston

Tim Wescott wrote:
>My aunt recently had a major stroke
>[...]she'll probably never regain her speech.
>[...]she's quite good at handling a TV remote.
>[...]made her wonder if anyone makes a remote-sized thingie
>with a button to say "yes" and a button to say "no".

To get more than one on-demand audio response
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?
scoring=p&price=between&price1=1&q=record.messages .that.require.users.t
o.make.choices.*.*

is a lot more expensive than a general-purpose item
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?
scoring=p&price=between&price1=1&q=Digital-Voice-Recorder

but perhaps *more than 1* of the cheapies...
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?
scoring=p&price=between&price1=1&q=Message-Recorder
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?
scoring=p&price=between&price1=1&q=Record.messages .for.friends

Winston wrote:
> Tim Wescott wrote:
>
>> This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.
>>
>> My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but
>> it's affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her speech.
>>
>> My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
>> good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems
>> to be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
>> remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
>> "no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
>> say "You $#%@!".
>>
>> This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
>> anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any
>> suggestions on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a
>> pertinent web site?
>
>
> Until that box is made available, try this on your XP notebook:
> Start > Control Panel > Speech > Text to Speech tab >
> Type something into the Preview Speech box and click 'Preview Voice'
>
> It is cool.
>
> --Winston

And:
http://www.research.att.com/~ttsweb/tts/demo.php
Somewhat cooler.

--Winston

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:31:37 -0800, the renowned Tim Wescott
<> wrote:

>This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.
>
>My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but it's
>affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her speech.
>
>My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
>good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems to
>be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
>remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
>"no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
>say "You $#%@!".
>
>This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
>anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any suggestions
>on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a pertinent web
>site?
>
>Thanks.

Yes, Tim there is a fair range of such devices for suitable for people
who suffer from aphasia. Costs are a bit silly high, but usually it's
covered by some kind of insurance or another. Suggest you ask the PT
for recommendations.

Here's what looks like an exhaustive list if you want to investigate
further yourself:

http://www.cigna.com/customer_care/h...ng_devices.pdf



Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:31:37 -0800, Tim Wescott <>
wrote:

>My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
>good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems to
>be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
>remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
>"no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
>say "You $#%@!".

http://www.aacconnections.com/html/t...ch_devices.htm
http://www.ace-centre.org.uk/vocapag...ectvoca=Spok21


Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Frank-Christian Krügel

"Tim Wescott" <> wrote in message
news:...
> This is totally off topic, but you're a smart bunch.
>
> My aunt recently had a major stroke. She's coming back to us, but
> it's affected her severely and she'll probably never regain her
> speech.
>
> My mother was visiting her the other day and noticed that she's quite
> good at handling a TV remote. This, plus the fact that my aunt seems
> to be fine at understanding people made her wonder if anyone makes a
> remote-sized thingie with a button to say "yes" and a button to say
> "no". Frankly, I think Aunt would vastly amused by a third button to
> say "You $#%@!".
>
> This seems like an obvious thing to have available, yet I cannot find
> anything. Has anyone run across such a beastie, or have any
> suggestions on search terms that might make Google or Yahoo cough up a
> pertinent web site?

One would think there would be quite a market for such a device, perhaps
with ten different buttons, for areas other than disability support. For
a start, when in a foreign land then you could get a lot done with 10
basic phrases.