Re: Apple IIGS and speech generation for handicaped

[mikew50@aol.com (MikeW50)]

In message <34c94793.159899660@news.pernet.net>, baxter@pernet.net (Sam Baxter)
said:

>I have some friends who's daughter has ALS (Lou Gerigs Disease).  It
>has left her without the ability to speak.  I have a  Apple IIGS I
>would like to outfit with speech for her.  I think the IIGS has the
>ability to do so.  Was any software ever developed that was
>specifically for the handicaped.  If not, what would I need to create
>speech with IIGS that would be recognizable and easily operated by
>someone who may not be knowledgable about computers?    

The Apple IIGS can do a fairly good job at this. We sell a product called
Talking Tools ($35) which works with a stock Apple IIGS. While you will never
mistake the results for a person, this program can read text in a very
understandable way, and even offers male and female voices. For what you're
looking for, I'd highly recommend it.

I'd also recommend HyperStudio, still available from Roger Wagner Publishing.
That will require 1.75M of RAM to be useful in this case, and 4M would be
better. It can run from a 3.5" floppy, but I would recommend a hard drive. You
can buy either for around $100 from Alltech if yo don't have these. If you
explain your situation, you might get RWP to send you a free copy of
HyperStudio; if not, they generally charge around $150. You may also be able to
find a used copy cheap.

Finally, I'd recommend getting ahold of a fellow named Bill Lynn. You can reach
him at hsjournal@hsj.com. He did some stacks for HyperStudio. His profession is
working with behaviourally and mentally disabled children, but because of this
association, he did a great deal of software for children with disabilities. He
may also be able to point you to other sources for software and hardware, and
perhaps even give you a few tips on where to find money--some does exist for
this sort of thing.

Mike Westerfield