Acting for a friend with ALS

[Gold68]

Hi all, Hope you don't mind me being the go between for my best FRIEND. Kev was dx'd 16 months ago with ALS, and it has pretty much wiped out his speech the last 3 months. THIS in its self would not be that bad (according to Kev)...BUT he is only 56 and has been an EMT/firefighter for almost as long as me, 39 years. He was elected to be our Chief 4 years ago. The problem we have now, is few people that can understand his speech. The few of us that go on most of the calls can understand him. BUT again there does need to be at times where others HAVE to understand. We are a very small department that is dwindling fast. (Volunteers are hard to come by anymore! He has had a Motorola Droid for 2 years now, and he really depends on this. His daughter downloaded an app that is something like ..text-to-speech. Only trouble is the speaker. After this long intro, what I would like to know...is there such a thing as an EXTERNAL speaker that can be worn on his jacket? Even when Kev steps down from his position soon, we STILL need his knowledge. I am sorry if ALL of this post should not be in the introduction of a new member, but I just got carried away! ANY help would be appreciated. It would be nice if there were simple answers in life eh?

THANKS
BRIAN

[Droid-X-Forums]

[Abe21599]

welcome. I'm sorry to hear about your friend. My suggestion would be any type of portable speaker that would plug into the headphone jack and output through that. perhaps something like this

Amazon.com: Altec Lansing iM227 Orbit MP3 Speaker: MP3 Players & Accessories

hope this helps!

[nemosfate]

Sucks to hear that but What about a Bluetooth headset our something like that?


Root, Roms and Themes, oh my...

[Gold68]

Hey Abe and Nemosfate....thanks for the replies. @Abe..that is along the lines we'd like to go...but I don't know about the size and weight. Would like to somehow be able to fasten to jacket or shirt.

@Nemosfate..have not given thought to that option. As username states my age....US 'oldies' sometimes don't think outside the box!

Thanks for the replies so far!
BRIAN

[Abe21599]

bluetooth might be a better option as not everything can be outputted through the headphone. maybe something like this
Amazon.com: Motorola T505 Bluetooth Portable In-Car Speakerphone: Cell Phones & Accessories

[Gold68]

I have given some options to my friend. I think I will look at the Motorola Bluetooth, and buy it to get the ball rolling. I DO appreciate the replies! THANKS

BRIAN

[C Dippa]

You may also want to look into the many different text-to-speech engines on the android market. There are many different voices available, and some may be easier to understand. I've heard Ivona is good...

[jwalz]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I work in a nursing home and have seen such a device that is a headset with a mic on it that scratches to a small amplifier that is worn around his neck so whatever he says comes out the amp .. it works well with a few patients of mine that have ms that do not speak loud at all. Not sure of this helps .. my prayers go out to your buddy

GO GIANTS

[maybish]

Hi and welcome!!! So sorry about your friend..my prayers go out to him and his family! Als is a terrible disease. My nest friends husband lost his life from als 2 months ago. Hope you get the device you need! Wish I could be more help!

Sent from my DROIDX using Droid X Forums

[fezrock]

Hello to you both! Welcome to dxf. Hopefully you will find the perfect device to help.





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