Voice banking

[EvelynMW]

I realise i may have left doing this a bit late. Can you tell me which company does the best job, and how i need to pay for it.

[Bowler]

Firstly you don’t need to pay. The MND Association will fund it and if necessary loan you a laptop and good quality head mic. Simply contact the connect team and they will sort it all out for you.

The quickest way is to use “I will always be me”. If you google it you can read all about it.

The other company is Acapela which is equally as good but takes much longer to bank the voice.

If your voice isn’t as good as you would like then certainly with “ I will always be me “ a family member or friend can bank their voice for you to use. I know someone who has done just that using her daughters voice which is similar..

Here’s the link to I will always be me which explains the process

https://www.speakunique.co.uk/overview/i-will-always-be-me/

[Jackie R]

We used Acapela for my hubby funded by MNDA, this was arranged by our speech and language therapist.

[MNDConnect]

Dear EvelynMW,

Thank you for your inquiry. Forum member, Bowler, is correct, The MND Association will fund the voice banking process with Acapela, Model Talker, Speak Unique and I will always be me, this can be applied for as you register with any of these providers.

We will fund other providers but the funding process is different, so please do contact us if you prefer another provider. if you follow the link below, you will be able to access the providers mentioned above from our communication aids webpage.

https://www.mndassociation.org/support-and-information/our-services/communication-aids-service/

Voice banking with, I will always be me, can be carried out on a up to date ipad or iphone. if you choose one of the other providers you will need a laptop or PC and a head/set microphone. This can be loaned out by the MNDA, the form is available on the website, you can apply yourself you do not need a speech therapist to make the application.

If your voice is clear you should be able to use any of the providers, however, if your voice has been affected at all by MND, speak unique have a voice repair service, or in extreme circumstances a complete voice rebuild.

If you have any questions, please do contact the MND Connect team: [email protected]

Kind regards

Jacqui Anderson
Senior MND Connect Adviser

[AngelaR]

Hi, my husband Andy did his voice banking on Model Talker 5 years ago when he was first diagnosed. The speech and language therapist was very helpful. It was a bit of a long process to get the recorded phrases perfect so that it was happy to save them but pretty straight forward. He has just started to use this saved voice via his eye gaze Grid3 tablet as it has now become very difficult for him to communicate orally. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to hear his voice again. Truly amazing! Quite emotional for us all mind you but still wonderful ❤️ Definitely worth doing if you can x