2010 is looking bright for the development of speech and language technology. Over the last year Capability has been working on a number of projects aimed at supporting young disabled people to explore and use language.
Corseford pupils have been working with researchers at Dundee University on a project that shows how joysticks can be used for more than just playing computer games.
The PhonicStick is a talking joystick which supports children to make sounds and blend them together into words. This new way of producing synthetic speech is aimed at supporting disabled children with complex communication needs.
Some disabled children have limited or no speech and currently use electronic speech output devices to communicate. These devices usually have a number of spoken words or phrases stored that can be accessed by selecting a symbol on a computer screen. Unless the user is literate and able to spell new words they can only access the words stored on the device.
In many cases disabled children are not having the opportunity to play with the sounds that later make the words in the same way as their non-disabled friends. Researchers fear that this could be one of the factors which make it more difficult for children with complex communication needs to learn how to read and write.
Researcher Rolf Black explains more: "Children in the UK learn how to read and write by learning the letter sounds and blending them into words. The PhonicStick will enable the children who previously could not fully access this teaching method to fully join this very powerful way to literacy. They can now make new words by playing with the sounds similar to their peers.
"We are currently using a joystick because many of the children use one to drive their electric wheelchair or to play computer games. But the possibilities for other methods are endless.”
The PhonicStick is now being translated into Swedish
Corseford pupils were also invited to the December launch of a new joke generating computer developed by the University of Aberdeen in partnership with the Glasgow Science centre.
The software used in the ‘Joking Computer’ was initially generated through a partnership by the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh to help disabled children build on their language skills. The Corseford pupils trialled the original software and were delighted to see how the technology they helped create is now being exhibited to the wider public.
Pupil Alix Brown said: “We had a great day out and enjoyed e-mailing jokes to our friends back at School.”
You can visit the Joking Computer at the Glasgow Science Centre now.