Many people struggle with speaking in public or expressing themselves. This can create a major obstacle for anyone who has to communicate professionally. One of the most common reasons why people have difficulty communicating is because they cannot speak without their tongue and lips. Fortunately, there are strategies that can be used by those who struggle with speech so they can say what needs to be said! These include:
lip reading: by following the movement of a person’s lips, someone who cannot speak can still understand what is being said. This method does not always work for those with speech impediments that make it difficult to enunciate their words clearly or articulate them properly. It also requires good lighting and focus on where an individual’s mouth is moving so they are able to see every word being spoken;
sign language: this type of communication relies solely on hand gestures and facial expressions in order to convey messages without saying anything aloud. They may be used when vocalizations prove too taxing or impossible due to issues such as throat cancer, paralysis from nerve damage after a stroke, locked jaw syndrome, etc.;
speech synthesis: these programs allow those who cannot speak to produce spoken words through a computer. This method is often used by people with cerebral palsy or ALS, but also has applications for other conditions that affect speech ability;
proximity aids: these are wearable devices placed on the neck and upper chest of an individual in order to amplify sound so they can hear what others say more clearly. This option may be best utilized when one side of one’s mouth is paralyzed from nerve damage after a stroke, locked jaw syndrome, etc., as this device centers sound near their ears rather than over their shoulder where it would be muffled because of distance away from the speaker’s face;
texting/chat ting: this is a way for people to communicate when they cannot speak. This method may be best utilized if one side of their mouth in paralyzed from nerve damage after a stroke, locked jaw syndrome, etc., as it allows them to type messages with just the movements of that same side of their face;
speech synthesizer software: these programs allow those who cannot speak to produce spoken words through a computer. These devices are designed for use by individuals who have lost the ability to create speech sounds and rely on some form or assistive communication device such as an eye tracker;
This program has many applications because it provides access to another means of communicating which can make life easier for those who struggle with speaking due to any number of reasons .
Aphasia: is a language disorder that results from damage to the parts of the brain that control speech. A person with aphasia may have difficulty understanding or producing spoken and written words;
Apraxia: is an impairment in motor function, affecting primarily expressive movements such as speaking (speech). The root cause for this phenomenon can variously be attributed to stroke, traumatic brain injury, head injury, degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy or autism spectrum disorders. As you read on below about apraxia it becomes clear why someone who has been diagnosed with this would find software like Speech Synthesizer helpful since they cannot move their mouth independently of other facial muscles without some level of assistance;
Lipreading or reading speech from facial cues: is the process of understanding spoken words by visually interpreting signs made with a person’s lips, face and tongue. When someone cannot use their hands to write messages they are trying to get across, lipreading can be one way for them to communicate;
Speech Synthesizer: software that assists people who have difficulty speaking due to neurological disorders like apraxia. A synthesized voice reads aloud what the user types on any given window, which may help in various situations where there is no other means of communication available (e.g., because another person does not know sign language).
The first step to understanding a person with an impairment is identifying the nature of their disability.
Some people are born without certain body parts, and others lose them due to traumatic events in life such as accidents or illness. Aphasia (also called dyslexia) can also occur after one suffers from brain damage due to stroke or other medical conditions. When it comes down to communication disorders, there are five major types: speech difficulties caused by hearing loss; stuttering which is involuntary repetitions of sounds made during speech; verbal apraxia that affects how people produce words they want to say out loud – this condition interferes with language skills such as recalling the right word for something you want so say, speaking sentences fluently , or understanding what is being said to you; dysarthria which prevents a person from forming words and sentences, often caused by degenerative diseases such as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis); and finally aphasia.
Aphasia is the loss of ability in language that usually occurs following an injury to one’s brain – either through illness or accident. A common misconception about people with this disorder is that they are physically unable to talk at all when, in reality, not everyone who has it will be afflicted with speech difficulties but some might have trouble talking because their tongue can’t move properly due to nerve damage or muscle paralysis etc… The degree of severity varies depending on the individual case.
