Using predictable for speech

[Terry]

Thanks Norman;

We were talking about head control on another thread, do you know what/if apps are available for head or eye control for I pads. I have seen a head pointer working a switch program but was not over impressed.

Love Terry

[Ellie]

Hi TC,

I'm not aware of any head controlled mouse, free or not, for iOS. There is a cheap ($40) camera mouse for OS X (Mac)

The Eye Tribe eye tracker works with OS X, but it is not free. Most AAC seems to be developed for Windows and far fewer for Macs, but there are ways around this, sometimes.

I'm not that well up on non-Windows tech!

xx

[Terry]

Hi Ellie;

At that AAC day there was a, I think 35 year old cerebral palsy lady, that used a switch type program to give a talk. She said that if there was one thing that she could change with her communication system, it would be the "windows updates".

Do you know much about the $40 camera mouse? I don't use Apple products but it is always useful to know.

Love Terry

[Candle]

Reading some of this thread reminded me of Julius and Optikey. Has anyone followed his work? It seemed very interesting and much better than some of the communication aids we were trying two years ago, camera mouse and tracker pro, etc.

[Ellie]

Hiya TC,

Eyetwig iTracker http://www.eyetwig.com/itracker.html


Wonder what that lady meant about the Windows updates? They shouldn't interfere with her switches and she can always turn off automatic updates.

Love Chimp xox.

[Ellie]

Hi Candle,

Optikey is a software package which needs hardware to operate it. This can be a camera mouse - free - or an eye tracker - about €125.
Sometimes a camera mouse can be quite difficult for those with ALS/MND to use, as good, consistent head control is necessary.

Ellie.

[Terry]

Hi Chimp;

It is important for people to know that we are talking about head control of the computer which is quite different to Eye Gaze systems. They also will probably require quite a bit of adjustment to work effectively.

It's what she said and also people preempting what she wants to say and the machine just saying things wrong. She didn't seem to have any control of her limbs etc. I quite like people seeing what I'm writing and if one to one, people preempting as it speeds things along and if it says a word wrong they normally know what it is by looking at my spelling.

Love Terry

[FlyingSoupDragon]

Hi Chimp;

..... I quite like people seeing what I'm writing and if one to one, people preempting as it speeds things along and if it says a word wrong they normally know what it is by looking at my spelling.

Love Terry

Good point Terry, 'saves typing and in doing so maintains the cadence of the conversation. Keep the iPad screen visible (on a stand) where it can be seen by your circle - using an external keyboard speeds things up further and engages people which makes for a more inclusive experience for everyone.

[Terry]

Hi Norman;

At the recent AAC day event at Cambridge, one firm (Techcess Ltd) had a pendant that you hung around your neck with a message board on it. It needed a special soft ware to run it.

I have always wanted a messaging board on the front dash as it can be so hard communicating sitting in a WAV in a wheelchair in the back.

I know Dvd uses a splitter Y piece in the headphone socket and head phones which could work quite well.

Love Terry

[FlyingSoupDragon]

Hi Norman;

At the recent AAC day event at Cambridge, one firm (Techcess Ltd) had a pendant that you hung around your neck with a message board on it. It needed a special soft ware to run it.

I have always wanted a messaging board on the front dash as it can be so hard communicating sitting in a WAV in a wheelchair in the back.

I know Dvd uses a splitter Y piece in the headphone socket and head phones which could work quite wel.

Love Terry

Hi Terry,

There's two distinct challenges with all these devices, the first is rapid, simple text entry. The second is delivering the communications to the recipeant.

Getting your message into the device without some kind of assistance can be tedious, particularly if the hands are not working well. Predictable and apps like it have options for doing this, but they tend can fall short at the interface by being clunky/awkward to use. Aids like TextExpander (Apple IOS) and its other platform's equivalents enable you to create a library of texts of ANY length you can conjure up with shortcuts of just a few keystrokes. These apps can and will improve as iterations arrive, but all are easier to use with practice and a bit of ingenuity.

A second (Bluetooth) screen to be placed in a spot clearly visible to you audience would help, particularly if it came with hide/reveal options on the master screen - the one under your control.

https://textexpander.com/. This link gives a handy illustration.

[Terry]

Thanks for the info, Norman;

I do a similar thing on my lightwriter and store things and play them just by typing in a few letters. Only thing is remembering all of them if you don't keep using them. Also you have to make sure that the letters don't look like a word when inputting it.

Love Terry

[FlyingSoupDragon]

Thanks for the info, Norman;

I do a similar thing on my lightwriter and store things and play them just by typing in a few letters. Only thing is remembering all of them if you don't keep using them. Also you have to make sure that the letters don't look like a word when inputting it.

Love Terry

Yes, they're a collection of keyboard macros, there are tricks you can use to help build and remember them.

[Terry]

I have recently downloaded the 'Predictable' app.
At first, I didn't get on with it, now I'm getting more used to it although, I still have a lot to learn.
I was disappointed that it doesn't correct your spelling as you go along, so it takes me longer as I have to go back and alter some words! I have just started to use the prediction words more (the menu of words it thinks you are going to use next). I have read that people think it's really good, so I hope I can get faster on it. Sometimes, when i try to answer or ask a question on it, by the time I'm correcting my mistakes, the subject has gone onto something else😬

It cost £120 to buy, so I hope I can start getting used to using the predictive words all the time.
I bought a new iPad, which I find a bit big to carry around, I thought the mini one maybe to small key wise?
When I go to shops or any appointments, I take my pad and pen to use.

Miss Technology.........not!
Mags 😏

I have tried Predictable again and I'm so surprised that it does not automatically correct spellings on give you an option to put in spaces etc.

My "Swiftkey" free downloaded android keyboard does all of that and has started predicting two words saving m,ore time and mistakes.

I do hope that "Predictable" gets up to speed and improves it's predictions! I can understand why people with I Pad's continue to use "speak it".

Love Terry

[FlyingSoupDragon]

Predictable.jpg

Attach a keyboard via Bluetooth and Predictable is transformed. Make sure it's an iOS (if iPad) compatible keyboard (function key arrangements) to achieve the benefits below. Logitech have a good range.

Keyboard Shortcuts you would routinely use work, not all but handy ones. Press 'Command' and a pop-up shows them in every app.

AutoSpell will correct your typos, not always with what you want, but it works without intervention.

Use Command-Tab and the App Switcher pops up enabling you to work your iPad on a stand , not on your lap.

Keyboard functions like Volume, Brightness etc are under your fingers.

...
The iPad Pro 9.7" with the Apple Pencil offers a further improvement to the experience. The Pencil empowers hands and fingers affected by MND, the point of contact on the screen is precise and not obscured by surrounding fingers, greater precision is possible which saves annoying deletes and retyping saving time and temper.

Reminder, keyboard shortcuts are available in most apps, press and hold Command to see what's available with the app open in front of you. Have fun!

PS: Using a keyboard with 3 Bluetooth 'channels' means you can switch between devices, phone, iPad and computer.

[FlyingSoupDragon]

629295_larger.png

Speak it is an excellent alternative to Predictable, it lends itself very well to remote keyboard use. TextExpander provides an onscreen keyboard (through Settings>General>Keyboards - don't forget to grant full Access) which brings TextExpander functions to ANY loaded iPad app. 'Speak it' also autocorrects spelling and typos.

Voice output is a bit stilted, but for less than £2 ...