Techcess welcomes Neel Shearer, our new AAC Product Specialist.

The Team at Techcess are delighted to announce the appointment of Neel Shearer as the AAC Product Specialist.


Neel Shearer - AAC Product Specialist at Techcess

Neel has a long history of working in the world of AAC from working with famous AAC using physics professors through to working with people to understand their communication challenges, translating their needs into the designs of innovative communication technology.

We asked Neel to answer some questions about himself....

Tell us a bit about yourself?
 

'Well,I live on a farm with my wife and three young children who keep me busy!  Over the summer, I have helped my wife set up an 'Eco Campsite' which has been developed with sustainability in mind.  I also love walking, and I recently completed a 'Coast to Coast' challenge, walking from St. Bees, Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire.
 

Why choose a career in Augmentative and Alternative Communication?
 

I seem to have always worked in this or a related industry throughout my career.  I get a lot of satisfaction from helping people to gain access to the basic human right that is communication.
 

What do you hope to achieve in your role as AAC Product Specialist?
 

To help more people find ways to communicate more effectively through using our products. 

As you settle into your new role, who will you be wanting to talk to as you travel around the UK?
 

I will happily talk to anyone, however, in this role I would be really pleased to hear from anyone who would like to explore being able to communicate more effectively using AAC or from speech and language therapists who want to do the same for their clients.

Neel can be contacted by email at neel.shearer@techcess.co.uk .

Looking forward to the Communication Matters National Conference, Leeds, 15th to 17th September 2013

It is that time of the year again!  The kids are about to go back to school, the evenings are getting darker sooner and in a few weeks time one of our favourite events is going to happen, the Communication Matters National Conference.

This is a really good conference for us to attend as it is a real mix of speech and language therapists, users of augmentative and alternative communication and the vendors that sell this equipment.

This year the keynote lecture will be by Paul Maynard MP and we will be in the wonderful city of Leeds for the first time.

So what can you expect from Techcess if you attend?

To start with Techcess will have a competition set up which is asking for creative and practical ideas on how the detachable partner display on the all new Allora can be used to enhance the communication experience for the user.  At Techcess we welcome feedback and this is a fun way to get it as the person with the most creative and practical idea will win a box of sumptuous Belgian chocolates as well as a Fortnum and Mason food hamper!  The winner will be announced at the Tuesday morning coffee break.

We will also be demonstrating the all new Allora as well as our dynamic screen technology  which is controlled by the popular Mind Express software from Jabbla .

The all new Allora 

Eye gaze technology being used with the Tellus 4 and Mind Express software.

If you are going please do come and say hello to us on our exhibition stand and don't forget that we are doing a seminar on Tuesday 17th September at 10:35 in room LG.10 Michael Sadler.

We are all excited once again for meet with so many people in the world of AAC and to gain feedback, learn and have a bit of fun at the same time!

Hope to see you there!

The Team at Techcess

A technical first? Childs voices on a keyboard based communication aid!

At Techcess we love technology that makes a meaningful impact on the lives of the users of our equipment.
One of the things that can be a constant annoyance is when someone who needs a communication aid has to compromise on what voice they want to use because there is not an available voice that really reflects them appropriately.
Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy, makes jokes about how he is a Geordie but has to sound like a posh Englishman!  Often text to speech (TTS) technology is first introduced in a female voice as the wider market of automated phone systems or satellite navigation seems to dictate that a female voice is preferable leaving out the male voice in a particular accent such as Scottish or Irish.

We are delighted that Jabbla has made available child voices for the all new Allora in both male AND female versions.  We were even more delighted that they actually sound really good.  Yes they do sound a bit posh, but at least they are reflecting the playful and childlike nature of kids.

That's what we think, but to be honest we would love to get your thoughts.  Please take a look at the video below and see what you think?

We would love to get your comments, so if you would like to tell us what you think, then please click here to email John, our guy in marketing.

Lost Voice Guy reviews the all new Allora.

One of the most satisfying aspects of working in a company that supplies AAC devices, is when we get feedback about how the device helps people.
What you may not be aware of, however, is that we strive to get feedback before we release our devices so that we can start to think about how the device can be further developed to meet the needs of our users.
I was privileged to be given the chance to meet Lee Ridley the Newcastle based stand up comedian.
Lee has recently made a huge impact in the world of stand up comedy, as he has cerebral palsy and cannot talk (hence his stage name).  So he uses a communication aid to do so.  What is fascinating about Lee's use of AAC is the fact that he uses different bits of technology for different purposes.  So, we felt that he was the perfect person to be able to take a look at the all new Allora and give us his thoughts.

Lee's blog can be accessed by clicking on his picture below;

If you would like to know more about the all new Allora then please click here and subscribe and we will let you know when our all new Allora mini site will be available to view.

Meeting new people using a new AAC device!

I love meeting new people!  I particularly love meeting new people who have an interest in AAC devices and when they show me how these devices can literally change the lives of those that use them.

For sometime now we have been telling people that a new device is on its way.  A simple to use, multi accessible text to speech communication aid called the all new Allora.  A preview video of the device can be seen below;

So far I have been in touch with a number of people that have been working with Techcess to trial the device and give feedback so that when it becomes available on the 15th May, it is ready to meet the needs of those that use it!

One of our trialists has been busy with this device since the early part of this year.  Our trialist is someone who has a progressive condition that presents in a similar way to Cerebral Palsy.  In her case, she wants to use the keyboard AND switch access simultaneously.
Initially, she found a number of software bugs that we were able to fix and now she is using the device and will continue to give us feedback whilst testing new updates for the device as and when they arrive.

Below is a photograph of our trialist using the device.

I believe that there is a need for a device like this that uses the literacy skills of the user and allows the user to be able to choose whether to use the keyboard, the switch (one or two) or both!

What do you think?

If you would like more information then please go to www.techcess.co.uk/allora and subscribe.  On the 15th May there will be an Allora mini site with loads of useful information about the device.

Word prediction when using web forms or when using web based emails.

I had a question today regarding using any web based program that requires text to be entered.   The question was about how the spelling of the text could be predicted.   There are many programs that have predictive text capabilities within their own program environment, however as soon as you start using a web browser to write text (for blogging or emailing) the ability to predict text does not transfer to the web browser.   As the dependency on cloud based applications becomes ever greater, it is really important that the tools are available to help people who live with dyslexia to be able to use tools that assist them.

One way of dealing with this is to use Skippy.   Skippy is part of the SprintPlus program that predicts text for ANY program that requires text to be entered.

It looks like this;

It is simply a box which presents the user with a number of words that can be selected using the Function Keys of the keyboard.  Each word option is predicted based upon the frequency of use for any particularly word specifically used by the user.
In the picture above you can see that the box is floating on the screen and is being used with an online blogging page.  Skippy can be used on ANY program where there is a requirement to write text.
The Skippy box can also be made to 'track' the text by being next to the sentence that is being written thus removing the need to constantly be staring at different parts of the screen all the time.

To turn Skippy on simply open SprintPlus and then click on the Skippy icon (see picture below);

I hope that this is useful and if you would like any further information then please do leave a comment. If you would like to try Skippy or SprintPlus then by subscribing below, you will be sent a link to a 60 day demo of the software.

Sign up to receive useful information on using text with Dyslexia and to get a free 60 Day Demo of the SprintPlus software.

Motor Neurone Disease - An inspirational story.

In our line of work we are so privileged to meet incredible people who live their lives with huge physical, mental and social challenges and somehow manage to show the world how those challenges will not stop them from getting the most from their lives.

This week in the Guardian, I came across a story about a journalist in the US who has been recently diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.  Susan Spencer-Wendel decided that despite the diagnosis she was going to move from an 'autopilot life' to one where she was going to get as many life affirming experiences as possible before she lost her life to this incurable condition.

I don't know what technology she uses to support her busy lifestyle, but she is an example to all and I hope that in some way the Team at Techcess can help other people in similar situations with our products.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to know more.

All the best,

The Team at Techcess.