Electronic Communication Boards &
 Computer Communications

Contributed by
Dorothy Lennox
Luminaud, Inc., Mentor, Ohio
info@luminaud.com

We, at Luminaud, have not had experience with the CRESSPEAKER MAXX itself, but I know that Crestwood (www.communicationaids.com) has some nice equipment as do many other members of the Communication Aids Manufacturers Association (CAMA). From various sources, you will be able to find a great choice of equipment from something small enough to hold in the palm of your hand to very heavy laptops that have almost unlimited communication possibilities, to desk model computers. You will have your choice of controls - key pads, buttons, gloves, switches, etc. to access the information - output by voice and or liquid crystal display and or digital display and or print - with prices running from a few hundred dollars to many, many thousand depending on the features you select. 

If you will go to the CAMA website at www.aacproducts.org, you will be able to go from there to all the various companies. Some will have appropriate products and some will not, but you should be able to tell that fairly quickly from looking at the sites. (AAC, by the way, stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication and is an abbreviation you will see often if you look into communication devices other than artificial larynges and voice amplifiers.)

One product you will want to consider is the LightWriter by Toby Churchill, Ltd., handled in the US by Zygo Industries, Inc. (www.zygo-usa.com). This device was used by WebWhispers member Beth Carter, who had lost almost all of her tongue and therefore could not use AL, TEP, etc. It is a small, lightweight device with a keyboard in an inverted V shape so that you can fit it over your forearm to use if you would like - or you can set it on a table in a restaurant between you and your listener, etc. It has a choice of 3 or 4 male voices and 3 or 4 female voices and also a display on both sides - one facing the user and one facing the listener. Other companies will have similar devices. There was a company with a device called a LINK at the IAL meeting in Reno last year. They are not a CAMA member and unfortunately, I have lost track of their contact information, but you might be able to dig it out via internet - or Jack Henslee might have reference to it from when he was handling the exhibits at IAL Reno.. 

You may be interested to know that CAMA company WORDS+ (www.words-plus.com) is the company that developed the communication system for Stephen Hawking, the British physicist. 

DynaVox is another good company to contact (www.dynavoxsys.com).

This is not to imply that others of the CAMA companies may not have the closest-to-perfect device for you. I just haven't been able to keep up with everything that everyone has and I know the companies I mentioned do have some nice items - but you'll want to look everything over ... a lot of homework because there are 22 companies in the group. But it will be well worth it to find something that you are comfortable with and does the job you want. Many of the companies have local reps who can show you equipment and/or many larger cities have companies that are reps for several brands and types of this equipment, so, depending on your location, you may find that you are able to see and try several devices.

I should probably mention that you are VERY, VERY UNLIKELY to get any Medicare coverage on one of these devices, but if your doctor will provide an excellent write-up of your need and the providing company can file a claim under the L8499 (Misc. Prosthetic Device) code, you might have some chance of something.

One of the things that you want to be sure to give careful consideration is the size of the buttons or keypads you would have to use compared to your own finger size and manual dexterity. Naturally, the smaller and easier to carry the device, the smaller the keys - or the more limited in number the keys.

And the voices vary somewhat - they will be synthesized speech and all the companies are always trying to make them sound better, easier to understand, less electronic.

And you'll want memory so that you can input and store up a lot of phrases you use often and have them easy to just "speak out" with just a keystroke or two.

And, if your eyesight has limitations, you'll want something that has messages, labels, etc. that you have no trouble reading.

All in all, you'll have to expect to make trade-offs among your ideals in size, weight, key or button size, sound quality, memory, visuals. etc. You'll have to choose what seems to be the best combination of features for your own personal use. 

If you would like a device so that someone can pre-record basic messages for limited conversation or emergency messages that you can send out over the phone if need be, I'd be happy to send information if you'll give me your address. Note: We do not do phone or mail solicitation and we NEVER give, sell, lend or share your contact information with anyone else unless you specifically as us to do so.

Another resource you might want to consider is NARIC - the National Rehabilitation Information Center. You can contact them and they will help you find answers to your questions and help you locate equipment that meets your needs. Look at their website at: www.naric.com/naric.

Sorry this was so lengthy, but I know from experience that these are some factors that people often don't think about when they start looking, so I hope some of this information will be helpful and save you some time and false starts in the long run. I've tried to double check the web sites I've given, but if there are any that don't work, please let me know and I'll look into it. Also, if you would like a complete list of the CAMA members addresses, contact information, I would be happy to mail it or fax it - don't yet have it in good form for Emailing.