How Speech Recognition Makes Living with Disability Easier
Voice Assistants such as Apple Siri, Google assistant, and Amazon Echo have become common household names in the past few years. In fact, CNN names these voice assistants as "one of the 6 big trends to watch out for" in 2018.
The underlying technology enabling voice assistants is called as Speech Recognition i.e. a way for the computing devices to understand the human spoken word. Although these products have been advertised as a way to improve productivity, they can be a game changer for the disabled, especially the ones who have difficulty operating computing devices due to a problem in their upper limbs. As in mobile devices, speech recognition technology can also be used to operate computers.
In the remainder of this post, I describe various ways that I use speech recognition in order to accomplish daily tasks that I was not able to do before. I'm going to focus mostly on Google Assistant and Dragon NaturallySpeaking as these are the products I use the most. However, the functionality that I discuss is applicable to other products like Amazon Echo, Apple Siri, Dragon Dictate on MacOS, and Windows Speech Recognition also.
Mobile Devices
Voice Calls
The most common Google Assistant feature that I use is to manage voice call and messages hands-free. To place a call, all I have to do is to say the command "Call <name of the person>". If required, the Assistant will prompt me for further clarification e.g. in cases if there are multiple persons in my address book with the same name or if the named person has got multiple numbers. I can also call a particular number by saying the phrase "Call <number>". Google Assistant also remembers the preferred phone number for a particular person and will dial it automatically the next time I ask it to call. In order to make the operation completely hands-free, I use an app Auto Speaker to automatically put the phone in speakerphone mode if there is no headset attached. This way, I do not have to hold the phone while talking.
Texting
In order to send a WhatsApp message, use the command “Send a WhatsApp message to <name> “. Of course, WhatsApp should be installed on your device before you can use this command. Sending a text message is similar- just say “Send a text message to <name>”. One shortcoming that I have faced is the limited length of the message that you can send in one command. I have experienced different maximum length on different devices and I have not come across any official word from Google. However, as long as you are within the maximum length of one SMS message which is 160 characters, you should be fine.
There are plenty of apps on Google play store available for listening to WhatsApp and text messages. Technically speaking, this is not speech recognition but rather text to speech. Text to speech is much easier to implement and that is why there are so many apps available. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the apps will be dependent on your hardware and Android version. I have actually found it better to have separate apps for reading out WhatsApp and text messages.At the time of writing this blog post, I am using Caller Name Announcer Pro for listening to text and Free Notification Reader for listening to WhatsApp messages.
If, however, you want to try using one that can work with several apps, I would recommend Read it to me. Apart from WhatsApp and text messages, it will also work with the Facebook messenger, Google Hangout, and Gmail. It even allows you to send a response. Unfortunately, it worked with my device for only a few months and then after a WhatsApp upgrade, it could no longer read the WhatsApp messages.
Reminders
With the cervical and shoulder pain, I find it difficult to write beyond an occasional signature. I, therefore, use the Google Assistant to save my list of reminders. For example, I simply say the command “ Set a reminder to <phrase to describe the event to be reminded that the time and date> “ and the Assistant will remind you about the event on the time and date that you specified. This is very handy when I get an appointment with a doctor on the phone. As soon as I finish the call with the doctor, I use the Google Assistant to remind me a day prior to the appointment.
Another feature I have found very useful as the ability to quickly store where I have kept my personal stuff. This is especially useful to organize my medical prescriptions and receipts. After an exhausting trip to the doctor, the last thing that I want to do is to sort and put the medications, prescriptions, and receipts at a proper location. So I just say something like “Remember that <dr payment receipt> from today’s visit is in the top drawer of my study table”. Then when I am ready to organize the receipts for my tax purposes, I just ask the Google Assistant “Where is my <dr payment receipt>” and it will tell me the location where I put the receipt along with the date and time when I created the reminder.
For more complex requirements with other Android apps, I use Google Voice Access which allows me to emulate the tapping and swiping action on the screen.
PC & Laptop
Despite the plethora of functionality offered by voice assistants, there are still some tasks that I prefer to do on the computer. For example, working with long emails and complicated spreadsheets is easier on the PC then on the mobile devices.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Windows Speech Recognition are the two most well-known software programs to operate a computer with voice. In fact, Dragon NaturallySpeaking was the world's first consumer speech recognition product. Apple Siri is based on the technology that powers Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Windows speech recognition comes for free with the Windows operating system. Dragon NaturallySpeaking can cost anywhere from $ 50-$ 300 depending on the version that you buy. Despite the price difference, I would advocate any user to start with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. The reason, as TechRadar.com says " The sort of accuracy you get isn’t comparable with that offered by the likes of Dragon "
Better Ergonomics
I suffer from chronic neck, shoulder, and abdominal pain. The neck pain makes it difficult for me to type. The abdominal pain prevents me from sitting or standing in conventional posture. While sitting, I have to lean back and extend my legs. Using a keyboard or mouse in that position is not advised because the arms are no longer parallel to the floor and the wrists are in extension. As mentioned in this video at 1:55, the wrist needs to be flat otherwise it can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, I no longer have to be bothered about ergonomics for the arm and the rest and can, therefore, work in the position that is less painful for me.
Ability to frequently change work positions
Even if I were able to sit properly, I would’ve still preferred to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking for most of my computer tasks. With a computer keyboard and mouse, you are automatically locked into a few positions where you can work ergonomically. You have to be either properly seated or be standing. Regardless of the working position, if you’re using a keyboard, your shoulders tend to be internally rotated. This makes you more vulnerable to shoulder pain.
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| WORK SETUP AT HOME |
In fact, if you really want, you can actually do text-intensive tasks like dictation while pacing up and down in the living room with a big TV as a computer monitor. The lack of keyboard and mouse also enables you to change positions frequently without having to do any kind of furniture adjustments. In my opinion, this is the most prominent advantage of using speech recognition. From my personal experience, the best way to avoid any kind of computer-related injuries is to learn to change your working positions every few minutes.
I have also noticed that if I am not using the keyboard or mouse, my breathing improves. I'm attributing it to the possibility that I don't have to spend nervous energy in coordinating the movement of arms and fingers and so can focus more on breathing properly.
Improved productivity (aka less time on the computer)
Suffering from a relatively uncommon chronic illness can be very isolating. There are certain issues which only a person with a similar problem can understand. Social media has helped me connect with patients in the same boat. Even though we are geographically apart, talking to one another to draw upon our collective experience of managing life with chronic pain has helped a lot.
Dragon helps me automate tasks on social media website that I do frequently. For example, I usually use the hashtags #chronicpain, #fibromyalgia and #fibro in my posts on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.
With Dragon NaturallySpeaking premium version 13, I can create verbal shortcuts for these hashtags. I just say “Chronic pain hashtag” and all the hashtags will be typed in. More automation means less time on social media and computer and more time to deal with the health challenges.
One can also create keyboard shortcuts but verbal shortcuts with phrases are much easier to remember than the combination of individual keys in a keyboard shortcut.
How to start using Dragon NaturallySpeaking
While Dragon NaturallySpeaking can almost do any task that you can do with a keyboard and mouse, it may take a few months to learn to use it to its full ability. When I first purchased the product, I tried doing all my computing task with it from the get-go. That left me frustrated and often overwhelmed with the amount of information that I had to digest to make it work with different applications. I also came across people who had given up on Dragon NaturallySpeaking after a few weeks because they could not use it properly.
But after having gained experienced helping a few beginners get up to speed, I realized that the software is best learned step-by-step.
Here are my suggestions on how to get started with it:
Dictation
Initially, I would recommend using Dragon NaturallySpeaking more as a dictation tool. This will help you adjust to the volume and speed of speaking for maximum accuracy. For most users, reaching out to the mouse or keyboard is almost automatic. Unlearning that habit takes some time and therefore it may be beneficial to try the most easy-to-use feature of Dragon naturally speaking.
To use it for dictation, you can try any of the word processing tasks such as creating documents are composing emails. Microsoft office products such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook are the best choices here as they are very tightly integrated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Even though Gmail in a web browser will work with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, I recommend configuring Microsoft Outlook with the Gmail account through POP or IMAP and then using Microsoft Outlook for email. Using it this way will help you use voice shortcuts like “Send an email to <name>”
Web browsing
Once you are comfortable with dictation, you can start doing web browsing. In many cases, you can simply say the name of the link in order to click on it. You may find some websites that are not fully compatible with speech recognition. For that, you can learn about how to use the mouse with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. At this stage, you can also try the free email accounts like Gmail with the web browser.
Email and the browsing are the most common tasks and may suffice for an average home user.
Advanced
For the more adventurous, this will be a time to start using it with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Evernote. This is also a good stage to explore ways to automate your tasks. For this, you may want to purchase the advanced version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking or third-party software like KnowBrainer. I recommend using the third-party software because it provides many features over and above the advanced version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
For example, with just your voice, you can create mouse macros that will position the mouse at a particular place on the screen when you say a particular command.
Of course, advanced users need to remember that excess of everything is harmful. So if you’re spending a cumulative of 8+ hours a day speaking, you may be at an increased risk of straining your vocal chords. It is therefore advisable to take rest breaks and sip water at frequent intervals.
At the end, it all comes down to putting your health first and learning to use tools that will help you accomplish your task without undue strain on your body.
<If you're interested in learning more, you can visit the tutorials section of my blog at >
<If you're interested in learning more, you can visit the tutorials section of my blog at >
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