Voiceitt has Transformed my Life
“It works"
"What?"
"It works"
"Voiceitt?"
"Yes."
Gasps... celebratory silences... and stifled language.
I hate talking on the phone, but the occasion called for it. I knew my life was going to be different. I had never called my occupational therapist (OT) before, but I wanted her reaction in real time.
I am a writer and performance poet. I’m passionate about the power of words to create life and inspire positive change.
I live with cerebral palsy, which renders me a very slow typer. All my life I have lived with this friction… this grief. The passion to write…create with words, and the confinement of plugging away one word at a time. I always have creative ideas, but very few make it onto the screen.
I have dreamed of a speech-to-text software that recognises my voice. I’ve tried a few. I tried training Dragon for over 12 months...which amounted to little progress. The hundreds of painfully slow hours I spent training demonstrate how desperately I wanted it to work.
Having exhausted her resources and knowledge, my OT proposed that we consult an OT who specialised in assistive technology. That OT introduced us to Voiceitt. When she showed us a video of Voiceitt working for a man who had a speech impairment, I teared up. This might actually work for me.
It took me a while to give it a real go. I was hesitant. I was at the cusp of either my dream being realized or deep disappointment.
Voiceitt is a dream come true. It only took a few hours to train. Its accuracy in recognising my voice is about 90%. This allows me to run with my thoughts and creativity rather than being bogged down in the typing of each word. I can now write 600 words in an hour. Before, I was lucky to write that in an afternoon. I copy and paste the transcription into a word document or my email service. From there, I correct errors and undertake the editing process.
Voiceitt has transformed my life. I can now fully engage in the techniques and processes that my fellow creative writers use. Requiring so much less time and effort, I often spend a little more time writing and emailing. I'm more likely to write an email or short message to friends and family, which makes me feel more connected.
I believe in the power of words to create life and positive change. Voiceitt gives voice to people who live with various disabilities. It facilitates words that would not otherwise be heard or read.
My OT thanked me for calling her that day, saying that it had made her week.
Voiceitt has made my world.
