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Lightwriter
Lightwriters are a type of speech-generating device. The person who cannot speak types a message on the keyboard, and this message is displayed on two displays, one facing the user and a second outfacing display facing the communication partner or partners. A speech synthesiser is also used to provide speech output, and some models offer the facility to connect to a printer to provide printed output. For people who are unable to use a keyboard, some models of Lightwriter offer the option of an on-screen keyboard with selection made by a switch using a scanning technique. Word prediction is included to make a significant reduction in the number of keystrokes. One model of Lightwriter, the SL40, has a built-in mobile phone which provides text messaging and the option of voice telephony with the synthesised speech sent to the person on the other end and the incoming speech message being broadcast through the Lightwriter's loudspeaker. Lightwriter is the brand name of Abilia. Lightw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toby Churchill
Toby Churchill DEng FRSA (born 29 June 1947) is a disabled British entrepreneur. He founded a company manufacturing communication aids for people who cannot speak. Biography He is the eldest son of Oliver Churchill and Ruth (née Briggs). He was born in Cambridge where he has lived for all of his life. He was educated at The Perse School, Cambridge, and the University of Bath where he studied engineering with French. In 1968, aged 21, Toby contracted encephalitis from swimming in a polluted river while working in France as part of his degree course. Within 24 hours he became totally paralysed and without speech. Doctors initially diagnosed his lost speech as a sunstroke but subsequently realised it was more serious. Then French President, General de Gaulle, heard that someone with the surname Churchill had been taken seriously ill and, mistakenly assuming Toby was related to Sir Winston Churchill, arranged for him to be flown back to Cambridge airport in his private jet. Toby spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huntington's Chorea
Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unsteady gait often follow. It is also a basal ganglia disease causing a hyperkinetic movement disorder known as chorea. As the disease advances, uncoordinated, involuntary body movements of chorea become more apparent. Physical abilities gradually worsen until coordinated movement becomes difficult and the person is unable to talk. Mental abilities generally decline into dementia. The specific symptoms vary somewhat between people. Symptoms usually begin between 30 and 50 years of age but can start at any age. The disease may develop earlier in each successive generation. About eight percent of cases start before the age of 20 years, and are known as ''juvenile HD'', which typically present with the slow movement symptoms of Parkinson's d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speech Synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal language text into speech; other systems render symbolic linguistic representations like phonetic transcriptions into speech. The reverse process is speech recognition. Synthesized speech can be created by concatenating pieces of recorded speech that are stored in a database. Systems differ in the size of the stored speech units; a system that stores phones or diphones provides the largest output range, but may lack clarity. For specific usage domains, the storage of entire words or sentences allows for high-quality output. Alternatively, a synthesizer can incorporate a model of the vocal tract and other human voice characteristics to create a completely "synthetic" voice output. The quality of a speech synthesizer is judged by its similarit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augmentative And Alternative Communication
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) encompasses the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech or writing for those with impairments in the production or comprehension of spoken or written language. AAC is used by those with a wide range of speech and language impairments, including congenital impairments such as cerebral palsy, intellectual impairment and autism, and acquired conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. AAC can be a permanent addition to a person's communication or a temporary aid. Stephen Hawking used AAC to communicate through a speech-generating device. Modern use of AAC began in the 1950s with systems for those who had lost the ability to speak following surgical procedures. During the 1960s and 1970s, spurred by an increasing commitment in the West towards the inclusion of disabled individuals in mainstream society and developing the skills required for independence, the use of manual sign langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motor Neuron Disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most common type of motor neuron diseases. Early symptoms of ALS include stiff muscles, muscle twitches, and gradual increasing weakness and muscle wasting. ''Limb-onset ALS'' begins with weakness in the arms or legs, while ''bulbar-onset ALS'' begins with difficulty speaking or swallowing. Half of the people with ALS develop at least mild difficulties with thinking and behavior, and about 15% develop frontotemporal dementia. Most people experience pain. The affected muscles are responsible for chewing food, speaking, and walking. Motor neuron loss continues until the ability to eat, speak, move, and finally the ability to breathe is lost. ALS eventually causes paralysis and early death, usually from respiratory failure. Most cases of ALS (abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award and an International Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Golden Globe Awards. Bonham Carter rose to prominence by playing Lucy Honeychurch in '' A Room with a View'' (1985) and the title character in '' Lady Jane'' (1986). Her early period roles saw her typecast as a virginal " English rose", a label with which she was uncomfortable. She is best known for her eccentric fashion and dark aesthetic and for often playing quirky women. For her role as Kate Croy in '' The Wings of the Dove'' (1997), Bonham Carter received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in '' The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus two honorary awards), two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours and knighted on 9 November 2012. He was made a Freeman of his native city of Belfast in January 2018. In 2020, he was listed at number 20 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Branagh has both directed and starred in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, of which he is a devoted fan, including '' Henry V'' (1989), ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993), ''Othello'' (1995), ''Hamlet'' (1996), ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (2000), and ''As You Like It'' (2006). He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Director for ''Henry V'' and for Best Adapted Screenplay fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Theory Of Flight
''The Theory of Flight'' is a 1998 British comedy-drama film directed by Paul Greengrass from a screenplay written by Richard Hawkins. It stars Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh. It premiered at the 23rd Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 1998. Bonham Carter plays a woman with motor neurone disease, and the film deals with the sexuality of people with disabilities. Plot Richard, an unsuccessful artist who builds primitive flying machines, attempts to fly from the roof of a London office building wearing homemade wings but fails, instead crash-landing and only being saved by a rescue squad. As a result of his actions Richard is sentenced to community service, in the form of caring for Jane, an ill-tempered woman who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and has run off her previous carers. Over time, Richard and Jane become friends, and eventually Jane asks Richard to help her find someone to lose her virginity to, explaining that she doesn't wish to die ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Ridley (comedian)
Lee Ridley (born 31 December 1980), better known by his stage name the Lost Voice Guy, is an English stand-up comedian. Disabled since early life, and unable to speak, he rose to prominence in June 2018 after winning the 12th series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. Early life Ridley is originally from Consett, County Durham. At the age of six months he was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy, brought about by a brain infection that left him in a coma for two months, which affected his movement and rendered him unable to speak.Lost Voice Guy: Heard the one about the stand-up comedian who can't speak? by Alice Jones, in '' |
Professor Sydney Selwyn
Sydney Selwyn (7 November 1934 – 8 November 1996) was a British physician, medical scientist, and professor. He was a medical microbiologist with an interest in bacteriology, authority on the history of medicine, avid collector, writer, lecturer, world traveller, and occasional radio and TV broadcaster. Life Sydney Selwyn was born in Leeds, 7 November 1934 and died in London, 8 November 1996. Selwyn's parents owned and ran a butcher shop in Leeds and originally expected him to follow them in their trade or at least something similar. He chose instead to devote his life to science and academia. As a working-class boy growing up in England in the 1930s, and during World War II, it was a great achievement for him to win a scholarship to be educated at the prestigious and ancient Leeds Grammar School. He then went on to study at the University of Edinburgh from which he graduated with a BSc, MB ChB, and gained an MD in hospital infection. He worked briefly (from 1959–19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pretty V
Pretty may refer to: *Beauty, the quality of being pleasing, especially to look at **Physical attractiveness, of a person's physical features Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Pretty'' (advertisement), a 2006 television advertisement for Nike Women * " Pretty (Ugly Before)", a 2003 song by Elliott Smith * "Pretty", a song on the Gigolo Aunts album ''Tales from the Vinegar Side'' * "Pretty", a song on the Korn album '' Follow the Leader'' * "Pretty", a song on the Nicky Byrne album '' Sunlight'' * "Pretty", a song on The Cranberries album ''Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?'' * "Pretty", a song by Nicole Scherzinger that leaked in 2016 * "Pretty", a song on the Weeknd's album '' Kiss Land'' * "'Pretty", a song by Naaz from her EP ''Bits of Naaz'' People * Pretty John (1890–1964), Finnish forest laborer and storyteller * Charles Fenn Pretty (1865–1940), Canadian forestry businessman * David Pretty (born 1951), Australian rules footballer * Diane Pretty (1958–20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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