Annotated bibliography

Voice Banking 101

Whitney D. Perkins

AAC

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication is essential for people who have complex communication needs.

• AAC includes all the ways we share our ideas and feelings without talking (ASHA, 2013).

Unaided vs. Aided Systems

• Unaided-You do not need anything but your body to communicate.

• Aided-A tool or device that helps you communicate it can be low tech or high tech.

• Low tech-pen and paper

• High tech-computers/ipads or speech generating devices

Speech Generative Devices

• This is a way to provide verbal output of speech for those that are unable to produce natural speech to communicate.

• Two options available: synthesized voice or a digitized voice.

• Digitized speech consists of natural speech that has been recorded or store on a device for later reproduction.

• Synthesized speech is the use of a voice generated by the device.

Voice Banking

• It is a process of recording a large inventory of an individual’s speech that is then used to create a synthetic voice that approximates the person’s natural

voice (Costello, 2012).

• It also acts as an emotional support for many patients and families that feel a loss of personality when they lose the ability to communicate.

• It brings comfort to families to hear their loved one’s voice.

Who’s interested?

• Individuals interested in voice banking are usually suffering from some type of degenerative disease such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or

Parkinson’s Disease.

What program is needed?

• Model Talker Speech Synthesis Program

• This program uses previously recorded segments of speech to create synthetic voice.

• Users must record 1800 utterances which fully cover all of the sounds for speech.

What program is needed?

• VocaliD is similar to Model Talker where a person is asked to record words and phrases.

• After they record words and phrases, then the voice is matched for similar properties (age, sex, gender, etc.) They use donor voices.

• Model Talker had higher scores in intelligibility, but a lower score in naturalness of the voice.

How much?

• $1,199 is the average cost for the program and voice banking is free

Recent Studies

Westley et. al (2018) examined healthy adults’ experience with voice banking process using Model Talker.

• All participants completed the Model Talker protocol and then completed a questionnaire about their experience.

• Themes related to the benefits of Model Talker, positive features and challenges of Model Talker, and increased awareness.

• Findings support the use of Model Talker, model voices were used for people who wanted a New Zealand accent.

Recent Studies

Bassell (2014) studied what SLPs knew about voice banking.

• 71% of SLPs were unaware of the term voice banking.

• 100% of SLPs indicated they had worked with clients with speech generating devices.

Voice Banking-Oschner

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNYYljKOfdA

Voice Banking-Model Talker

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POlvpVSx970

Articles

• See handout.

Questions?

References:

• AgoraNet, Inc. (n.d.) Welcome to modeltalker.com! Retrieved from http://www.modeltalker.com/.

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2013). Augmentative and alternative communication: knowledge and skills for service delivery [Knowledge and Skills].

• Costello, J.M. (2012). Preserving legacy: A guide to message banking [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.childrenshospital.org/~/media/Centers%20and%20Services/ Programs/A_E/Augmentative%20Communication%20Program/messagebankpreserveleg acyNorway.ashx

• VocaliD. (2014). How it works. Retrieved from http://vocalid.org/how-it-works/.