Selection of speech-to-text and text-to-speech software packages

Software packages designed to assist with writing and reading were evaluated in order to select the most appropriate packages for PWA. To be considered, the software needed to be compatible with a personal computer or laptop, as opposed to an app for a mobile phone or tablet device. Eligible packages were found through recommendations from colleagues and users with aphasia and by search engine (Google) using search terms ‘writing software’, ‘voice recognition software’, ‘dictation software’ and ‘reading software.’ This was not a systematic review, but rather an attempt to replicate what an informed user might do in order to identify readily available and widely accessible software. Three text to speech packages, five speech to text packages and two combined packages were found. They were evaluated on the criteria of cost, reliability, availability and accessibility, which were devised based on sample software acceptance criteria [116] and adapted for the specific user group in question: the results are shown in Table 2.1.

As a result of the evaluation, a number of software packages were rejected on the basis of poor availability of the software itself, such as Microsoft only platform, and of accompanying technical support services, for example location on another continent with consequently limited telephone support, or owing to poor reliability such as repeated freezing/crashing of programs and/or prohibitive cost, for example £795 for a single-user license. The remaining software packages were scrutinised in relation to their accessibility for PWA, for example the clarity and simplicity of their menus and navigation, their main features and their range of capabilities. As a result, the AT selected for use in the study were:

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Name Purpose Cost, availability and reliability Accessibility for PWA Dragon Naturally Speaking www.nuance.co m Speech to text Home £60.50, Premium £107.79 (Amazon.co.uk)

No free trial but reference section:

http://www.nuance.com/for- individuals/by-product/dragon-for- pc/getting-started-version-12/index.htm

Good – interactive and standard tutorials, webinar membership for additional support, telephone support service

Can be used in email and Internet applications Widely used in other studies for users with aphasia, users with other impairments and users without impairments DictationPro www.deskshare. com Speech to text Free to download

Easy to Install but froze repeatedly

Rejected on basis of unreliability therefore not assessed further eSpeaking http://www.e- speaking.com/ Speech to text Free to download

Poor - part of Microsoft therefore unavailable to Apple users; limited to Word therefore no email /Internet use

Rejected on basis of availability therefore not assessed further ClaroRead™ www.clarosoftw are.com Text to speech

Pro £199 + VAT, Plus £159 + VAT, Standard £129 + VAT

15 day trial:

http://www.clarosoftware.com/info/trials -and-downloads/10

Good – telephone support service

Wide range of options for tailoring to personal use

Accessible interface: menu bar can be simplified by removing any options not required

JAWS (Job Access with Speech) www.freedomsci entific.com Text to speech

£795, free trial available Good, though designed for visually impaired users

Rejected on basis of prohibitive cost

ReadWrite

www.texthelp.co m

Text to speech

Standard £140, Gold version £320 Free 30 day trial:

http://www.texthelp.com/UK/support/re quest-information

Introductory videos:

http://www.texthelp.com/uk/support/vid

65 eos/ Naturalreaders www.naturalrea ders.com Text to speech Free to download

Also for purchase: Personal $49, Professional $99, Ultimate $199, Developer $299

Based in Canada with no telephone support service

Accessible interface for users with aphasia; rejected on basis of poor support service

WriteOnline

www.cricksoft.c om

Text to speech

Single user one year licence £100 – this would therefore cost £1000 per year of study duration

Marketed for secondary school pupils with dyslexia or other special needs

Word bar feature useful for PWA Cognitively demanding interface Rejected on basis of prohibitive cost Penfriend

www.penfriend.l td.uk

Combine d

Single user copy on CD £120, additional machine licence £30 each

Primarily for users with motor impairments, to reduce the number of keystrokes needed Useful word prediction tool but complex interface owing to on screen keyboard likely to be distracting and confusing for users with aphasia

Speak and See Suite www.clarosoftw are.com Combine d Education version £102.12 Available to schools for academic purposes only

Rejected on basis of poor availability

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 Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ Professional Version 12, voice-to-text voice recognition software produced by Nuance Communications Inc.,

 ClaroRead™ Pro Version 6, a reading support text-to-speech package produced by Claro Software Ltd.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ has been used in three single case writing therapy studies with individuals with aphasia [117], [118], [115], therefore adopting its use would allow direct comparison with their results.

2.5.1 An overview of speech-to-text AT used in this study: Dragon NaturallySpeaking™

Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ is a speech-to-text software package; this type of software is also commonly referred to as voice recognition software (VRS). Users speak at a normal rate using a microphone, in this study worn as a headset, and the speech they produce is encoded as writing and appears on the screen before them. The microphone may be operated either by clicking with the mouse, or by voice command, and uses a clear traffic light colouring system to indicate whether it is off (red), paused (yellow) or on (green). The menu bar is visually simple and unobtrusive, with a number of drop-down boxes.

In order for Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ to perform accurately, users are required to set up a voice profile. This is typically done by reading aloud a passage of text, provided integrally with the software, using the microphone, though more creative methods are possible with the most recent version, as described in Chapter 9. It is also possible for Dragon to scan stored emails and documents to learn from frequently used vocabulary. Dragon can be operated in a range of different ‘modes.’ In ‘normal mode’ a user can dictate and use commands interchangeably. There are also settings purely for dictation and purely for commands (where both macro commands such as ‘open a new email’ and micro commands such as punctuation symbols can be given). Finally, there is a

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‘numbers’ mode, useful for applications such as spreadsheets, and a ‘spell’ mode, for the insertion of alphanumeric characters.

2.5.2 An overview of text-to-speech AT used in this study: ClaroRead™ ClaroRead™ is a text-to-speech software package which decodes written language by reading it aloud for auditory processing. It is compatible with Microsoft Word, Internet browsers and PDF files. A male or female voice with a range of international accents can be selected, and modified for rate, volume and tone. Users can choose whether paragraphs are read with pauses after each word or each sentence. Text can be highlighted as it is read aloud either word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, or as an advancing word trail. ClaroRead™ also has a number of optional features such as a screen ruler, which promotes visual focus by brightening a scrolling section of screen and darkening the remaining portion, and text reformatting to reduce visual/cognitive load. The ClaroRead™ menu bar is simple and iconic, and can be further streamlined by users since buttons which are not useful to them may be removed. Neither software package operates in isolation; rather they bolt on to existing packages such as Microsoft Office, web browsers and email systems, adjusting the ways in which these are engaged with and operated. 2.6 Summary

Chapter 2 described no-tech, low-tech and hi-tech AAC. It noted that acceptance of specialist hi-tech AAC devices by PWA has been low, and described the barriers to its use. It moved on to review the literature concerning the use of mainstream speech-to-text AT, first in the non- impaired population, then with impaired users from other disabled populations, and finally with PWA. A small number of studies using text-to- speech AT with participants after stroke or TBI were also briefly discussed. The chapter justified the selection of mainstream AT software rather than AAC designed specifically for PWA. It then presented the range of AT available at the outset of the study, and ended with an overview of the

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features included in the two AT selected for use: VRS Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ and reading support AT ClaroRead.

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Chapter 3: A systematic literature review of studies aimed at improving