Planning for the future is important especially in families with Huntington's disease.
Voice banking is a way of recording your speech now so that it can be used in the future, should you require communication aids. We understand that future planning can be daunting but with aids such as voice banking, thinking about this earlier could benefit your future. Technology is constantly evolving and companies are finding ways to make living with neurological diseases easier.
What is voice banking?
Voice banking involves creating a synthetic replica of your own voice that can be used in communication aids. This synthetic voice can then be used on a device that converts text to speech, allowing you to communicate with your own voice if banked ahead of time. This is a really positive step for those living with neurological conditions.
Traditionally voice banking has only been available to people who know they are going to lose their voice but have not yet developed speech symptoms.
SpeakUnique are the only service who can also offer voice banking to those with impaired speech through our Voice Repair service, and offer a bespoke Voice Design service for those with no speech so they can choose how they sound.
How do they bank your voice?
There are three ways in which they can do this depending on whether your speech is unaffected, affected or you require a designed voice.
Voice build
Voice Build will create a synthetic replica of your own voice that can be used in your communication aid. This is for individuals who have a medical condition that will affect their speech but have not yet experienced any speech symptoms. Your synthetic voice can be used on Apple, Android or Windows devices.
Cost
Free to bank and £175 to download in the future if you require it.
Voice repair
If you’ve already noticed changes in your speech, for example, you struggle to articulate words or you sound more breathy than normal, they can repair this damage in your synthetic voice with state-of-the-art technology.
Cost
A voice repair costs £250.
Voice design
The first way is to use old recordings of your voice. If your recordings meet the quality criteria, they can recreate your speech in a synthetic voice. There must be at least five minutes of you speaking however higher quality voices are created with 15 – 20 minutes of speech without music or other voices.
The second option is through voice donors. They can create a bespoke voice for you, that matches your desired accent, age and gender by blending together two donor recordings. This will create a bespoke voice that will not sound like either one of the donors: instead it will be a voice just for you.
Cost
A voice design costs £350.
What do people think about voice banking?
Dr Vincent Harding, a Clinical Psychologist from St Andrew's Healthcare said:
I have now seen a number of people living with Huntington’s disease complete voice banking with the support of our specialist Speech and Language Therapy Team at St Andrew’s Healthcare. This offers huge opportunity for optimising independence, wellbeing and quality of life through continuing to have their voice heard in relation to their life and their care. It is really exciting to see developments such as this, and making better use of technology, all of which can improve the likelihood of improved experiences and living well with Huntington’s disease.
About Speak Unique
Speak Unique started in 2012 off the back of a university research project. Now they have helped thousands of people have a personalised communication aid. You can read more about what they do on their website.