Predictable or Model talker

[Guest]

Hi

My dad was only diagnosed last week but keen to get going with banking his voice therefore can't wait for grants and things to go through I would like to pay for it myself. I know predictable and model talker are interlinked but not sure whether to go through the predictable app or the model talker website to start this process. What would you advise? Due to the cost I don't want to do things incorrectly

I just don't know where to start but don't want to wait for speech and language therapist as his voice is already going!

Thanks
Whitney

[njm]

Get onto ModelTalker asap. He records his voice through them. Predictable is the app that comes later.

Charles

[Barry52]

Hi Whitney and welcome here.

If your dad records his voice with modeltalker he will have to pay for the recording but the app and the iPad should be provided free through nhs augmented and alternative communication (AAC). You may have to go via a speech therapist.

Best wishes,
Barry

[nunhead_man]

If your dad records his voice with modeltalker

Modeltalker also seems quite technical - and I'm a tecchie!

They complain about me using a USB headset giving poor audio quality and presumably want a headset with an audio plug. I'd ordinarily pop around to Maplins ......

[Barry52]

Modeltalker also seems quite technical - and I'm a tecchie!

They complain about me using a USB headset giving poor audio quality and presumably want a headset with an audio plug. I'd ordinarily pop around to Maplins ......

Hi Nunhead Man,

I’m a self taught tecchie as I was in my late 40’s when my employer gave me a laptop and minimal training. Like you I used a cheap usb headset but found I had to do it over time with several repeats. The importance is to find a room with no sound interruptions.

Barry

[nunhead_man]

I've now had a reassuring email from Modeltalker - they are responsive - telling me "You should not worry too much about the score on the pronunciation meter. A low score is _suggestive_ of a problem, but not definitive and things like your dialect do affect the score."

eee by gum so zats ok den

The importance is to find a room with no sound interruptions

Yeah - in my home office I've had to remove the cats ( 2 off ) and turn off Radio 4 - and the network switch is a bit noisy but I cannot turn that off as I'd loose my connection

[Annb]

Barry
I am just about to start word banking. My NHS Trust do not provide an iPad just the app. I think it must depends on where you live. I will also need to pay for the recording when it is complete.

Ann

[Lynne K]

I finished my ModeTalker voice banking last week. Yesterday I did the 30 sentence audition on there website. I'm not happy with the result. It cannot say 'too' correctly for example. It says 'te'. It cannot say my granddaughter Katie's name correctly. It says 'Kady' and it only sounds an 's' on the beginning of words unless I get it to do the señtence faster. It has a sound of my voice on some words but a lot not. The sound of some ending words that need stressing and it doesn't. Some of it's language sounds American. When I was doing the voice banking it frequently rejected my Liverpool accent. What can I do? Thanks

[Barry52]

Hi Lynne,

Synthesised voice systems are never perfect but I wouldn’t worry too much about occasional mispronounciations. People listening to your voice through a tablet will understand. Regional accents are always difficult to reproduce and I say this as a Geordie.

Best wishes,
Barry

[Terry]

Hi Lynne;

I would be tempted to get in contact with model talker and perhaps the Mnda specialist about this as they will both have experience of this happening.

Love Terry

[nunhead_man]

Good morning

interesting session on technical stuff at the south-east region meeting on Sunday.

This lot gave a demonstration - https://thinksmartbox.com/product/grid-3/

And pointed me to this lot to voice record - CereVoice Me - errrr - https://www.cereproc.com - it is about £500 but they do it at cost and people on Sunday reported good results

Best

Andy

[Barry52]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for posting this. I tried the demo and the voice is okay. My one negative comment is that when you type it doesn’t always recognise the common words stored in my iPad so you have to type the whole word. It’s great that the tech guys are continuing to develope aids to improve the quality of life.

Best wishes,
Barry

[Royo]

Hello my wife has just started with this voice banking through the program provided through the N.H.S. Local team.
there was no mention of payment at all.
It took weeks for the team to get a mic in the end I got my own.
She was enjoying doing it until it crashed our laptop.
The program does not work with the updated version of Crome.
Not impressed so far let’s hope things improve so she can continue with the banking before it’s too late.
Thanks you
Royo

[njm]

Hello my wife has just started with this voice banking through the program provided through the N.H.S. Local team.
there was no mention of payment at all.
It took weeks for the team to get a mic in the end I got my own.
She was enjoying doing it until it crashed our laptop.
The program does not work with the updated version of Crome.
Not impressed so far let’s hope things improve so she can continue with the banking before it’s too late.
Thanks you
Royo

I encourage you to also go the Model Talker route.
You bank online. It cant crash. They save your voice.
Then when ready you download it onto your ipad via the Predictable app. Predictable is the app that allows you to playback.

Charles

[Terry]

Hi Roy;

It's good to hear the speech therapist is involved and sorted out any cost.

What program has she provided?

You can phone Mnda connect and speak to them about the program and ask for advise as they have a person quite knowledgeably on the subject.

Modal talker is the one used by most, it was free but now costs around £90 I think.

Love Terry