Creating a voice bank for when you're no longer able to speak

9 Feb 2016: Jason Liversidge was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2013.

Eventually he will lose the ability to speak. But before this happens he wanted to make sure his children would remember the sound of his voice. In this effort, he recorded a combination of 400 sentences to create of voice bank of words.

The sentences he recorded ranged from simple to complex. Once he's no longer able to speak he'll still be able to communicate with people using these words through a specialised tablet. Instead of a synthesised computer voice, it will be his voice people hear.

Synthesised voices are great for enabling people to communicate. But they can often sound unnatural and mechanical, like you're talking with a computer instead of another person. The approach Jason has taken will allow him to talk more naturally with people, and keep aspects of his personality alive.

Despite the difficulties ahead of him, Jason has a positive attitude.

I could sit there and get frustrated at the fact it is stopping me doing stuff but then I'm going to get frustrated about all of it.

I make the most of what I can do.

I'm no stranger to gradually losing abilities over time. So I think Jason's attitude is the right one to have. Positivity isn't going to fix your situation, but neither is negativity or focusing on what you've lost. This way you can accept the changes, and move forward living life to the best of your abilities.

Original Article - dad with motor neurone disease records 400 sentences