ALS Assistive Technology Benefits

Part One

Accessibility Services, Inc. (ASI) is continuing our series of articles on the benefits of ALS assistive technology.  We are focusing specifically on the autonoME, a proprietary environmental control unit/speech generating device that offers environmental control and voice assistive technology in one single package.  Our previous article discussed how the autonoME works as an environmental control unit  This article will cover how it can also operate as an ALS communication device.

Voice assistive technology is especially important to quadriplegics and individuals with debilitating diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis whose conditions either have or will eventually affect their ability to speak.  As we discussed in our previous article, the autonoME incorporates different input methods including touch, sip and puff, eyegaze, and head tracking so individuals with varying types and stages of disability can control the device.

In addition to its environmental control features, the autonoME is also a speech generating device with full augmentative and alternative communication capabilities which give users the ability to communicate. A key ALS communication feature of the autonoME is voice banking.  This allows users to record their own unique voice, sayings, expressions, sentences, words, etc. in their own voice while they still have the ability to speak.  Later, as their disease progresses, they can continue to communicate using their own sayings, voice and expressions vs. responding with an artificially generated voice.

Would you like to learn more about how the autonoME can assist you, your loved one or patients with environmental control and augmentative and alternative communication?  The product representatives at ASI are here to help. Give us a call today!