Freedom of speech

Communication has always been very important to me. That is why I jumped at the chance to start this blog ten years ago. I know that writing is one of the best tools in my toolbox for lending my voice to the disability rights movement. 

Yet, deciding what to write about is the easy part, but actually getting my words on the page has always been a challenge.

Some context…

I have cerebral palsy (CP). It’s caused by injury to the developing brain and affects movement, coordination, posture, and muscles. The effects of CP can vary widely from person to person. An individual might have a slight limp or need more assistance with their daily routines. I use a wheelchair to get around, and my voice can be hard to understand at times, especially if I'm laughing. I do that a lot. Using my hands for things like tying my shoes and typing is just about impossible. 

When I type, I use only my right hand, pressing one key at a time. My left hand is only involved when I need to hold down the Shift key or press Caps Lock. As you can imagine, writing even a single sentence can take what seems like forever.

Dictation comes with its own set of challenges. I often dictate to someone over Teams or Zoom, but scheduling time to work together with a typist is often difficult. Plus, since we are not in the same room, I can easily be misunderstood. 

If I took too long to get a thought out, I’ve had typists who would finish sentences for me. Please don't get me wrong; everyone who has assisted me with typing has been amazing, and I really do appreciate all the help, but this is my blog, and I want it to be in my voice.

This is why finding a way to be more independent in my own writing process was important to me. After all, the name of the blog is From Where I Sit. 

Taking a chance

When my editor asked if I would be willing to be a guinea pig of sorts and go through the process of finding speech-to-text technology that works for me, I was skeptical, to say the least. 

The thing is, I’ve been through this before. I’ve spent endless hours trying to get my spoken words onto paper with other speech recognition software and was left with almost nothing that made sense. I was sure it would be one step forward and two steps back. 

Well, guess what, I was absolutely wrong!

I started my quest by meeting with Sara Valli, the director of ATinNH, New Hampshire’s state federally funded Assistive Technology Act Program. Sara told me she was excited for me to try out a relatively new speech recognition technology called Voiceitt. She explained that Voiceitt was designed to work with anyone who had a speech challenge or difference. She had once seen a demonstration at a technology conference and knew it would be very helpful and a game-changer for many people. Now I was less nervous and more excited.

How it works

Voiceitt is software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help people with disabilities or accents use their own voices to communicate and type independently. I use it for typing. I had to get down to basics to understand how this really works. AI is defined as the ability of a computer to learn things and make decisions. That is exactly what Voiceitt does. I started by repeating and recording about one hundred phrases, some of which were a little hard to say, but there was one phrase I will never forget: Destroy all humans! 

I think the software inventors just wanted to see if I was staying awake. 

The assistive technology learns my unique speech patterns based on these phrases and will continue to do so over time as I use it. 

This tool really is a game-changer.

I like how this tool makes it easier to share a little more of my personality. For example, I can be quite a chatty Kathy if I'm talking with my friends or family, but not when it comes to sending out an email. It takes so much energy to write a single sentence, so I’ve always had to focus on writing what’s essential.

I can see how this technology can assist me not only in my professional life but also in my day-to-day personal life. I’ve already used it to write friendlier, more professional emails, agendas, and this post! 

Sure, I'm not an expert yet, but I'm getting there. I still have more phrases to record and more practice to do, but after that, I can see myself using this to write a book someday. 

The point I’m trying to get across is that with this tool, I have more possibilities.

From where I sit…

I can tell when someone doesn't understand me. They get a look on their face and keep nodding. I usually laugh a little and say, "You understand what I just said, right?" In person, I have the luxury of repeating myself until I am sure they do understand me.

Digitally, I don’t have that luxury without support like a transcriber, or tool like VoiceItt.

Like many people with disabilities, because of how I sound or write, people might make assumptions about my intelligence.

Voice recognition can help eliminate these assumptions, and we can be seen as who we really are. 

Listen, I’ve never typed anything by myself of this size, so this blog was a big deal for me.  This isn’t just about my voice and my experience. It’s bigger.

I have a new way to express myself, to advocate, and to exercise my right to freedom of speech.