Computer Program for Users with Speech and Motor Disabilities
By Closing the Gap, Vol. 19, No. 4, p. 38Publication Date: October/November 2000
Article presenting YSpeak from Hawk Software, which is a voice output word processor and word prediction computer program for users with speech and motor disabilities. YSpeak can speak typed input in 25 different voices. As the user types, the program will speak the typed text either word-by-word, by line, by sentence, or when requested by the user. Text can be displayed in any font, size, style, or color. YSpeak has two built-in dictionaries, which it uses to function as a word prediction program. When the user types the first two letters of a word, YSpeak will use the dictionaries to look up words starting with those letters, and display the possible choices to the user in a separate window. Words are tracked as they are entered so that the program can predict the appropriate term to be entered. A separate window also allows the user to choose from user-designed phrases by pushing any of 42 on-screen buttons. These phrases can by typed phonetically, in any language. YSpeak is designed to run on an Apple iBook laptop, but will also run on most Macintosh laptops, iMacs, or desktop computers.
Assistive Products Discussed: YSPEAK
Published by: Closing the Gap, Inc. (Website:http://www.closingthegap.com)
