Dragon and Disability

[Michael Green]

Does anyone have any experiences with disabled people using Dragon?
I am a partial Quadriplegic. I am about to do a trial on dragon for my own purposes but i thought if it works as well as i am told that it works that it would be so useful for people with a large range of disabilities.
Does anyone know of any specific disabilities that Dragon is useful for?
I also intend to write an assignment on Dragon and its uses for Disabled People so any info will be greatly appreicated.

[Suntzu]

Michael,

Welcome to the forum. :)

In my experience training dragon users, I have found Dragon to be VERY beneficial to users with disabilities. I speak to 3 or 4 Quadriplegic's who are using dragon (or who wish to) a month. Its very common as it is a great help to them. Most of them use dragon professional and the cs60 usb wireless headset http://www.voicerecognition.com.au/plantronics_cs6 0_wireless_usb_headset.htm

This gives them the ability to create new commands to automate many procedures on their computer and the wireless headset means they can move about and not have to be troubles by cords.

I have also trained many people who are missing arms/hands or have limited mobility in this area. I get great feedback from them.

One thing though, in the setup phase you might need an IT savy friend to help with the install and setup to get you started.

[Michael Green]

Thanks Suntzu i take it that you are outside of Australia?
With my limited experience together with my Friend's I had come to a similar decision; if I wanted to get proficient at Dragon quickly I would be best served by getting a professional in to set it up and maybe have a few basic lessons to get me on my way. I was very impressed wtih it's understanding of what I said but got frustrated when trying to state fidly commands and punctuation etc.
However after having gone through the manual I can see that it is deffinately worthwhile in persevering with it, for as my fingers deteriortate I will have to rely on prgrams like Dragon more and more.
Is there any way i can get Dragon to turn my computer on?

[Suntzu]

Im in australia. I do a lot of Dragon training and setups for new users. Ive trained a LOT of users with disabilities over the years. Its a great program as an assistive technology.

PM me your details and location and I will try to find a trainer who can assist you.

cheers

[Michael Green]

Thanks for your help Suntzu.
I am in Adelaide at Flinders Uni. I am able to use version 8 at Uni. and are getting my way through it slowly, luckily i am able to use my fingers which is obvioulsly a huge advantage; and i am able to take the manual home so i can study up before each use.
But it is as an assisted technology that I was mainly interested in Dragon. I was wondering if you new of any partially sighted persons using Dragon as it seems to me that they could also benefit from using it. Especially if connected to a braille printer.
I have spoken to the people at Novita (formerly The Crippled Childrens Association) They train people in the use of Dragon; but they could not give me specifics reguarding who was using it because of privacy considerations.
But i am finding it difficult to get a handle on exactly which types of disabilities it is appropriate for - besides the obvious ie. Quads, amputees, arthritus suffers, etc. if you know of any others, besides fine motor skills effected peoples, I would be most interested in hearing about them. Or of any Disablity institutions besides Novita that are promoting the use of Dragon as an assistive technology.
Thankfully Yours, Michael.