For those of us who lack independence, technology can be a powerful thing. It frees us from our inability to communicate otherwise. It is our way of gaining back the independence that we lost or do not have. Technology is growing every day, allowing us to express ourselves and have the independence to do things that we would not otherwise be able to.
As a quadriplegic paralyzed from the neck down, I depend on my voice for multiple things. This includes today’s technology to be more independent and for daily activities. There are many things out there that can be controlled by voice, but in order to type and move freely through my computer I use a speech recognition program called Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
The program allows me to train my voice so that it can recognize what I'm saying and identify my speech patterns. Also, I can create different commands based on things I say often or passwords that I use daily. It is how I type, search the web, create blog posts, and communicate with others. Dragon has given me the independence I need to have full access to my computer by use of voice.
I also use an added program called VoiceComputer that brings usability, productivity, ease-of-use and unprecedented accessibility to speech recognition. It’s an all-in-one add-on for Dragon. It works with it to allow me to have better access to my mouse. When it’s on, it numbers every link, box, location etc. possible. If I want the mouse to go to a certain spot, I just simply say the number coordinated and it goes to it. This makes it quicker and easier for me to navigate throughout the screen along with programs.
Jenni
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