AAC voice options
AAC voice options
Overview
Some people are born without a voice due to conditions such as autism or cerebral palsy. Some lose their voice due to a progressive condition such as ALS/MND. AAC (short for augmentative and alternative communication) provides a way to gain or reclaim one’s voice. High-tech AAC solutions are evolving quickly to offer a choice of synthetic voice options so that people with communication disabilities can better express themselves. What’s more, these voices can be activated with the touch of a button or even with the gaze of a person’s eyes. Let’s take a look at the voice options available with Tobii Dynavox communication devices:
An AAC option that enables communicators to choose a synthetic voice that resonates with them. This can include anything from a specific language, to a type of accent within a language, to a voice that sounds like a certain age and gender. It’s even possible to adjust the pitch and rate of the chosen language within Tobii Dynavox software.
An AAC tool that offers a way to create a custom synthetic voice that closely resembles a person’s natural one. It’s also possible to bank a voice donated by a family member or friend.
An AAC tool that offers a way to record and store a library of a person’s most used words and phrases for more authentic and quicker self-expression.
People with degenerative diseases such as ALS/MND can preserve their voice to use later with a communication device should they lose the ability to speak. This can be done via message banking, voice banking, or a combination of both. These solutions allow a person to continue sounding like themself, which helps retain a key part of their identity. The message banking and voice banking processes should be started at the early stage of diagnosis to have ready if needed. These options are possible with Tobii Dynavox AAC solutions as follows:
| Voice banking | |
| TD Talk | Acapela my-own-voice, ModelTalker, The Voice Keeper and SAPI5* files (64-bit) |
| TD Phone | Acapela my-own-voice, ModelTalker and SAPI5* files (64-bit) |
| Communicator 5** | Acapela my-own-voice, ModelTalker, The Voice Keeper and any other voice banking service via SAPI5* file (32-bit) |
TD Pilot
| Voice banking | |
| TD Talk | Acapela my-own-voice, ModelTalker, The Voice Keeper & Apple Personal Voice |
| TD Phone | Not available for iOS |
| Communicator 5** | Not available for iOS |
*SAPI5 is provided by Microsoft. Most voice baking providers, including Acapela my-own-voice, will provide installers for both 32- and 64-bit SAPI5 voice files.
**Communicator 5 offers message banking with TD I-Series.
If for whatever reason voice banking isn’t selected, it’s possible to choose a pre-existing synthetic voice that resonates with an AAC user. The following lists show the language options available with Tobii Dynavox software (most are available in a selection of either female or male voices):
TD Talk
Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (US/UK/CA), Finnish, French (FR/CA), German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian(Bokmål), Portuguese (BR/PT), Spanish (LA/MX), Swedish, Swiss German (PCS/Metacom 9), Turkish
TD Phone
Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (US/UK/CA), Finnish, French (FR/CA), German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian(Bokmål), Portuguese (BR/PT), Spanish (LA/MX), Swedish, Swiss German (PCS/Metacom 9), Turkish
Communicator 5
Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (US/UK/CA), Finnish, French (FR/CA), German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian(Bokmål), Portuguese (BR/PT), Spanish (LA/MX), Swedish, Swiss German (PCS/Metacom 9), Turkish
It’s possible to choose a pre-existing synthetic voice that resonates with an AAC user. The following lists show the speaking voice language options available with TD Snap software. These are usually available in a selection of female or male voices, many in child, teen and adult options. It’s also possible to adjust the pitch and rate of the chosen voice:
TD Snap Core First
Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (US/UK/CA), Finnish, French (FR/CA), German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian (Bokmål), Portuguese (BR/PT), Spanish (LA/MX), Swedish, Swiss German (PCS/Metacom 9), Turkish
TD Snap Motor Plan
English (US/UK), Bilingual US English/Spanish
*TD Snap PODD is available in US/AU English and TD Snap Gateway is available in US/UK English.
Watch and learn how to change a voice in TD Snap:
It’s possible to choose a pre-existing synthetic voice that resonates with the AAC user. The folling lists show the language options available with Tobii Dynavox software. All are available in a selection of either female or male voices, many in both child and adult voices. It’s also possible to adjust the pitch and rate of the chosen voice.
TD Snap
Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (US/UK/CA), Finnish, French (FR/CA), German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, (Bokmål) Portuguese (BR/PT), Spanish (LA/MX), Swedish, Swiss, German, Turkish
TD Talk
Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (US, UK), Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norweigian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish (Mexico, Spain), Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian
TD Phone
Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English (UK, US), Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Slovenian, Spanish (Mexico, Spain), Swedish
Communicator 5
Chinese (simplified), Danish, Dutch, English (US/UK), Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish,Portuguese (BR), Spanish (LA/MX), Swedish