TouchSpeak PocketPC Communicator for Dysphasics

The European Commission funded a research project to design and clinically trial a handheld communication aid specifically for dysphasic users, to run on standard Windows CE handheld personal computers. The result of this project is the TouchSpeak.

The project that was funded with the European Union Fourth Framework Program and the result is a handheld augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device with a dynamic color display, a built-in microphone and digitized speech output. It is designed specifically for non-speaking dysphasics (people that have difficulty in expressing or understanding thought in spoken or written words, caused by brain damage) and brain injured users. It is different from other AAC devices in that it is the first attempt to design a hardware and software interface specifically for people with dysphasia.
 
A single case study methodology was used and 30 users from the five different countries used TouchSpeak during a trial period. The product enjoyed huge success in the UK, The Netherlands and Germany with 17 of these users going on to use the software in their everyday lives. The users in the project tried their aids in a wide variety of different communicative situations.