Verity Healthcare

Hello, that is Samantha Hyman, and I’m the director of promoting at Speaking Keyboards, and that is your Assistive Know-how Replace.

Good day, and welcome to your Assistive Know-how Replace, a weekly dose of data that retains you updated on the newest developments within the area of expertise, designed to help people with disabilities and particular wants. I’m your host, Josh Anderson, with the INDATA Undertaking at Easterseals Crossroads in lovely Indianapolis, Indiana. Welcome to episode 720 of Assistive Know-how Replace. It’s scheduled to be launched on March 14th, 2025.

On at this time’s present, we’re excited to be joined by Samantha Hyman, director of promoting for Speaking Keyboards, as she joins us to speak about their resolution that may assist people with communication wants. We’ve additionally obtained a narrative about an accessible resort in West Virginia that’s getting used as a proving grounds for brand new assistive expertise and accessibility product within the hospitality trade. Let’s go forward and get on with the present.

Of us, we can not thanks sufficient for giving us a hear right here at Assistive Know-how Replace, however do you know this isn’t the one podcast that we’ve got? You may also try our sister present, Assistive Know-how Steadily Requested Questions. This present comes out as soon as a month and it options panelists, Belva Smith, Brian Norton, and myself, as we attempt to reply the questions which might be plaguing your thoughts about assistive expertise. We collect up all of the questions we get in the course of the month from emails, cellphone calls, and plenty of different means, after which we do our greatest to reply them. However I obtained to let you know of us, imagine it or not, we have no idea all the pieces. So, we depend on our listeners loads to succeed in out to us and provides us a few of these solutions or possibly simply speak about their private experiences and issues which have occurred to them.

So, if you happen to like Assistive Know-how Replace, it’s possible you’ll very effectively love Assistive Know-how Steadily Requested Questions. Once more, it’s Assistive Know-how Steadily Requested Questions the place you may get your questions on assistive expertise answered. Or if you happen to occur to have the solutions to a number of the questions requested on that present, please, please, please do attain out and tell us, in order that we may help the neighborhood with the solutions that they so desperately search. Very similar to Assistive Know-how Replace, you’ll find Assistive Know-how Steadily Requested Questions wherever you like to get your podcast. And as at all times, listeners, thanks for listening.

Of us, I obtained to let you understand that developing in just a few weeks, we’re very excited to do our, I feel, first ever crossover episode. We’ll be partnering up with the superb of us from the IMPACT Middle on the College of Pittsburgh Division of Rehabilitation, Science, and Know-how as we take turns interviewing the identical visitor. So for folk who don’t know, the IMPACT Middle gives so many various companies that may actually help. They’ve an MMOC, an enormous open on-line course, IMPACT Bootcamp, IMPACT Startup, IMPACT Accelerant, readiness evaluation instruments, so many different issues. However actually, and the entire motive that we’re partnering with them is in addition they have the IMPACT Tech Podcast. We’ll put a hyperlink down within the present notes so as to go over and take a look at the IMPACT Middle, and likewise get entry to their podcast.

However we’re actually wanting ahead to this, however I simply needed to let you understand that right here in just a few weeks, you’ll hear not simply myself, but in addition a tremendous host from the IMPACT Middle. So, simply maintain a watch out for that crossover present because it comes out right here in only a few weeks.

Of us, our story at this time, it comes from Lootpress and it’s written by Austin Sims. It’s titled First-of-Its-Variety Accessibility Lab Brings Assistive Know-how to the Hospitality Trade. This comes out of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and it talks about one thing referred to as the Accessibility Lab or simply The Lab. And it’s a collaboration between the Schoolhouse Resort, TravelAbility and Samaritan Companions. And it’s there to permit startups to refine improvements in an operational resort, guaranteeing that accessibility options are each efficient and sensible. This talks in regards to the Schoolhouse Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It says, it’s a 1912 highschool that’s been repurposed to be able to function 30 adaptive visitor rooms and inclusive occasion areas designed for accessibility. It says right here, fairly quickly, it additionally has an upcoming enlargement that’ll embody 85 further rooms, a spa, a microdistillery, and retail area. And actually, the entire concept behind that is to have a real-world testing space the place startups which might be engaged on totally different assistive applied sciences can check out their merchandise in an operational hospitality setting.

And that is made in order that the inventors, the parents which might be making this assistive expertise, can use it with actual vacationers to be able to validate whether or not it’s really useful or vital earlier than it really even reaches the market. As I stated firstly, it is a partnership. So it’s additionally a partnership between TravelAbility, which it says right here, is a pacesetter in accessible tourism. After which additionally, with Samaritan Companions, which is a social IMPACT enterprise fund that helps help early stage firms centered on incapacity companies.

So I really like this sort of partnership as a result of that is actually and actually one thing that may assist so many various individuals in so many various methods. And I don’t simply imply people with disabilities. This additionally helps the parents which might be making totally different assistive applied sciences get proof of idea, see how is that this actually going to work in the true world? How would this work in an precise resort and actually get to try it out? And never simply check out whether or not it really works, however check out, is it actually helpful? Is it actually going to assist? Is it actually going to be one thing vital that can assist people with disabilities with accessible resort rooms?

It additionally helps the resort trade as they give the impression of being and are capable of finding out what sort of lodging can we construct into our resort rooms to make them extra accessible for not simply people with disabilities, but in addition people with out disabilities, and actually, simply everybody all the way in which round. I’ll put a hyperlink to this down within the present notes, so as to go over to Lootpress your self and discover out a bit bit extra in regards to the story. However an excellent cool concept for the accessibility lab on the Schoolhouse Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. We will’t wait to see the place all of it goes.

Listeners, at this time, we’re excited to welcome Samantha Hyman from Speaking Keyboards, to the present, to inform us all about their easy and simple to make use of various communication gadget that permits the consumer to sort what they need to say and have it projected out to help with communication in numerous settings. Samantha, welcome to the present.

Hello, thanks for having me.

Yeah. I’m excited to get into speaking about Speaking Keyboards, however earlier than we do this, might you inform our listeners a bit bit about your self?

Certain. My background since COVID has been I’d say, advertising and marketing in numerous totally different startups. I began working with a mother or father firm, TechSpeak, that’s affiliated with Speaking Keyboards round 2022. And we determined to department it off and we spun it out into Speaking Keyboards. In order that’s been my space for the previous couple of years.

Good. Effectively, on to Speaking Keyboards, I suppose let’s begin firstly. When was it began and why?

Certain. So it will get complicated simply due to the mother or father firm, so I’m going to skip over the beginning as a result of it’s a very totally different entity, however Speaking Keyboards, I’d say is a couple of yr and a half outdated. We have been promoting the expertise for the previous, I don’t know, since 2012, beneath a distinct umbrella. It was rather more… How would I say it? It wasn’t marketed. It was simply on the market and folks have been shopping for it by discovering it on Google. It’s been within the stratosphere since 2012, once more, beneath a distinct identify and issues like that. And since Speaking Keyboards began a yr and a half in the past, it’s been doing tremendous effectively and we’ve been planting our seed all around the web and placing ourselves in issues just like the ATIA and seeing actually nice success over the previous yr and a half.

Superior, superior. Effectively, I suppose what all of the listeners need to know, we don’t need to beat round about it, what’s Speaking Keyboards?

Certain. So principally, I’ll speak about why it obtained began. The mother or father firm does loads with textual content to speech and we seen there was a necessity for cost-effective AAC units. In order that was once more, type of why the infancy of all of it obtained began. We now have our proprietary textual content to speech speaker, which comes with the speaking keyboard. So it’s just a bit speaker inside a field, after which a keyboard. We now have just a few totally different fashions. We now have a big key for low eyesight. It’s greater than a MacBook keyboard. Then we’ve got one which’s in all probability in regards to the MacBook dimension, what you’re used to, a small keyboard and that’s the usual key. After which we’ve got the twin key mannequin, which incorporates a typical key, in addition to a mini. So one thing that’s the dimensions of your hand. And all three, if you sort, it talks.

And the rationale this was created was, “Hey, someone is a postop affected person. Their spouse or husband leaves for the day and so they can’t make a cellphone name.” Proper? They’ll’t reply the cellphone. They don’t know the way to use an app gadget. They don’t know whether or not they’re aged or no matter that could be. And the necessity for this simply is on the market and it’s by no means existed and it’s a low-cost gadget. And when individuals discover out about it, they’re like, “That is life-changing. I can reply the cellphone when my husband leaves.” And that’s been large. So principally, it’s a real-time textual content to speech software.

Oh, undoubtedly. I like the way in which that you just deliver up simply the benefit of use. I do know once we get into AAC generally, it’s very deep, very advanced, and I’m certain some of us want that. So that is for folk who possibly are a bit older, or such as you stated, sort of postop or possibly have misplaced the power to talk later in life.

Yeah. We at all times stated that it was for that sort… That’s been our group and what we’ve seen, however through the years, it’s come up about, “Oh, is that this a tool for Okay by 12? Is that this a tool for youthful people?” And we’ve at all times shied away from it. So the reply is sure, however once we went to ATIA lately, and we’ve been getting these cellphone calls going, “This sounds nice for an SLP.” A speech language pathologist will name us and go, “This sounds nice as a software for someone I’m working with.” And we’re like, “Actually?” So what we did is we went to ATIA and we put out a mannequin to speak to SLPs and educators about, that was a very giant keyboard, coloration coded, simply a way more enjoyable wanting mannequin for youthful. They usually have been like, “This could be a tremendous software for my sufferers as a studying software in letter mode.

So we even have that popping out now for a phonetic mode, in addition to normal speech mode that we at all times have bought for the Okay by 12 neighborhood. In order that’ll be the Speaking Keyboard’s Okay-12 mannequin. So if a scholar has selective mutism, they will use it the way it was meant for use, which is the phrase mode, typing and talking. If an SLP is trying to educate their children and study to sort, they sort A, it’ll say, “Ah,” Or F will say, “Fa.” So we discovered that with that age group, that they’re in search of a software that doesn’t have a display as a result of nobody needs screens anymore. It’s like we’re going again in time. And this solves numerous wants for the training neighborhood. In order that’s popping out this month as effectively.

Oh, superior. That’ll be tremendous useful. As a result of yeah, I do know simply constructing language and all the pieces could be a problem a bit bit. And for some of us, simply utilizing the keyboard, it’s so… I don’t need to say easy, as a result of I do know a lot goes on behind the scenes to make all of it work.

However on the similar time, yeah, simply typing a phrase and hitting enter and having that phrase come out is so intuitive, I suppose, for these.

Yeah. They’re utilizing it proper now, and it goes to a pc and so they go, “We don’t need it to.” Proper? Or there’s a display and it’s an $8,000 piece of expertise, and so they’re like, “We’re simply attempting to have this child converse.” It’s $559. In order that half is absolutely useful. And relating to the no display mode, which is one thing that we get requested on a regular basis, why doesn’t this have a display? It quadruples the worth. The entire level of this was to only maintain it easy and maintain it cost-effective. And the second you add a display, that adjustments the entire goal of this.

So we added letter mode in order that if somebody is attempting to sort in, H-E-L-L-O, enter, it’ll discuss to that individual in the event that they want that. Once more, that’s a brand new function from final month, which is what the educators have been like, “Ah, that is superb. Let’s simply additionally do it in phonetic mode.” Most individuals don’t use letter mode. They use simply phrase mode as a result of they’re typing lengthy sentences. And one other factor is preset phrases is a large software for folk. In case you’re going to be at all times saying the identical factor, it can save you 30 totally different phrases, multi-language, female and male voices, altering the pace if it’s an aged. So all of that customization is embedded into the keyboard, which is absolutely useful for now younger and outdated, which was sort of again to your unique query.

No, I really like that. I really like how I can say phrases, I can do all that, but in addition, it lends itself to the consumer. I’m not restricted on what I can say. I’m not restricted on what I can speak about. Something I can sort, I can get out.

Yeah. The one factor, to not make it a joke, however the educators have been like, “This might be superb, however we actually want you to kill the swear phrases.” In order that’s one thing we’re engaged on too, as a result of the children might… Look, they did it with keyboards, I imply, calculators again within the day. Children like to try this. And so, we’re engaged on that and pre-toggling that function on and off for educators. So it may well’t be a humorous software, proper? It’s an actual studying software.

It would get them to make use of it extra. I’m simply saying.

I do know. They’re like, “This child I’m working with gained’t converse, however they’ll sort, however I don’t need them to have a look at a display, and issues like that.” So we’re right here and we’re listening to what individuals want, and that’s I feel, a uncommon factor proper now. So it’s been very nice to get the suggestions from the SLPs. What do they want? In order that’s been nice.

That’s superior. So that you talked about that I can save preset phrases, and then you definately stated it additionally has a pair totally different voices and languages. Are you able to inform us what these are?

Certain. Proper now, it’s female and male. So you’ll be able to toggle that on and off. After which relying on who’s utilizing it, and you may change the pace of the voice with the arrow keys up and down. Proper? Do you need to discuss actually quick? In case you sort actually quick, which everyone at ATIA lately tried to interrupt it, going, “If I sort as quick as humanly attainable, is it going to catch it?” And it does. So any pace and also you hit enter, after which it’ll converse your sentence. After which proper now, English and Spanish are built-in, in addition to French. We now have tons of various languages popping out. They’re there, however we haven’t gone international but. However it’s multi-language, which is absolutely useful for some of us as effectively.

Positively, undoubtedly. I can see how that might be useful for every kind of customers. So that you talked about in fact, face-to-face and youngsters. What different kinds of settings would Speaking Keyboards be useful with?

Yeah. The twin key proper now has been a very widespread mannequin, simply by way of the portability of it. As a result of it’s all wi-fi and you may go away your normal key at dwelling. And then you definately need to go to dinner along with your dad. You’ll be able to’t actually perceive what he’s saying, so he brings the mini in his hand, after which he units the little speaker on the desk and he can sort and reply, and you may clearly hear what they’re saying.

These conditions, as an alternative of bringing a chunky gadget to dinner, is very nice so as to have a dialog and actually perceive what the opposite individual is saying. So the twin key has been a very useful gizmo. And once more, for the children, we’re understanding for these with selective mutism, that they love so as to add that mini keyboard into the options. Can they bring about it to the classroom and reply questions with it? In order that’s one thing that we’re wanting into as effectively, simply as an add-on. Nevertheless it’s answering the cellphone, it’s simply the day-to-day duties the place someone… I’m old fashioned. I don’t love my app for all the pieces. Having only a gadget to have the ability to reply and converse, it doesn’t actually exist. And that’s loopy. And a few individuals don’t have the power to exit and purchase an $8,600 gadget only for a postop resolution. Proper? In order that’s once more, the use circumstances for easy talking communication wants, short-term, long-term, it relies upon, but it surely’s modified lots of people’s lives.

Yeah, I’m certain that it has. Do you have got a narrative that involves thoughts in regards to the speaking keyboard with the ability to change somebody’s life?

Proper now, the place we’re placing this out is there’s the large firms, which you understand what they’re. They work straight with the hospitals and organizations and all types of issues. We’re placing this out on Amazon. We’re attempting to make this accessible. And I didn’t even suppose that that will be a narrative. I didn’t suppose individuals would go on and purchase one thing so costly, greater than 19.99 diapers, but it surely’s been an enormous success.

There’s people who find themselves looking for this on the web on a regular basis, like speaking units. In order that’s been very nice realizing, that the necessity is there. And Joe Schmo is in search of this software and we’re there as a result of I wouldn’t know the way to discover it if I had a latest surgical procedure. Proper? And each time we get a cellphone name to the workplace and somebody is utilizing the gadget and so they hit the F1 key, which is preset that claims, “Please be affected person whereas I sort responses,” or F2 the place it says, “I’m utilizing this gadget, please be affected person,” once more, they will change all these. They’re utilizing it. So each story is totally different. The emails we get are superb. It’s simply that it’s altering individuals’s lives and so they’re utilizing the gadget for what it was used for, and that’s simply very nice.

No, it’s nice. I might see the way it might assist numerous of us with actually, numerous totally different sorts of communication challenges. Even of us who could also be deaf or laborious of listening to, I might see the way it might assist in some conditions, even be capable to talk a bit bit extra and open up some doorways in some other ways. So that you’ve talked about that you just obtained some new stuff coming. In order that’s the stuff to work with Okay-12, totally different voices or totally different languages and issues like that. When are these coming down the pipeline?

Yep. The Speaking Keyboards Okay-12 mannequin is on our web site proper now. So of us can get an early low cost in the event that they join. And that’s all, once more, on talkingkeyboards.com. That’s popping out in March. So we’re right here. It’s coming this month. Yeah. And we’re engaged on a DME stage product for hospitals. That, I can’t contact, Sean, an excessive amount of proper now. That’s popping out within the late spring. However I feel we’re simply attempting to hit all of the totally different areas when individuals ask, do we’ve got it? We now have the expertise, we simply want the time to construct it. However the Okay-12 mannequin, I’m actually enthusiastic about, simply because I’m studying rather more in regards to the SLP market and the anti-screen motion. And when everybody performed with our demo at ATIA, they have been like, “That is nice. This might be an awesome factor to have in our faculties, the enjoyable colours and issues like that, and the phonetic mode.” And I feel over time, we’re going to be integrating much more as we discuss to the educators into the long run fashions. So yeah, that’ll be nice. Fingers crossed.

That’s superior. And I by no means even thought in regards to the hospitals and DME. However yeah, if you happen to’re on a respiration tube or one thing like that, you may very effectively be coherent and awake sufficient to have the ability to talk, however good luck speaking with that factor in. So I might see how that might be tremendous useful to have the ability to talk with employees, with medical doctors, with everyone else, and truly be capable to specific your wants, issues or simply something that you just may need to say. In order that’s tremendous, tremendous useful. It by no means even crossed my thoughts.

Proper. You don’t essentially need to use an iPhone app whilst you’re sitting there in restoration. Proper? You’d relatively sort in H-E-L-L-O, or no, or issues like that. It’s a very simple gadget. In order that’s once more, we’ve gotten the cellphone calls from the family members of the restoration sufferers, however the hospitals aren’t actually too conscious of us but. In order that’s once more, the following market we’re going to plug ourselves into, as a result of we’re hoping that it helps lots of people. That’s the objective of all of this.

Oh yeah, yeah, for certain. There’s no studying curve. In case you can sort nonetheless you sort, whether or not you’re a contact typist and doing it fast or simply searching and pecking, that’s all you do. There’s a lot extra you are able to do. You’ll be able to add in fact, the phrases and all the pieces else, however I imply, out of the field, you’re able to go.

Yeah. And I feel that it’s humorous, like 15 years in the past, all of us discovered cursive or 30 years in the past, and so they eliminated cursive from the curriculums. And the educators have been saying, “It’s typing now. We educate them to sort and to jot down, however there’s no cursive.” And lots of people want to listen to again what they’re typing and they should really feel the keys. They usually’re like, “It is a software to actually study, A method Ah, or A method A.” And with the ability to hear that, nothing like that exists for the children. So it’s a software in that approach too.

Effectively, and I really like the way it’s increasing and being utilized in new methods as effectively. So that’s superior. And it sounds such as you guys are doing it proper, listening to customers and different circumstances and being like, “Oh yeah, we are able to work into that and that may undoubtedly work in there.”

I feel it’s generally you ignore the client and it’s like, proper now, all we’re doing goes, “What does everyone want? How can we assist?” So it’s been very nice assembly individuals and speaking to of us and studying about what everybody’s wants are.

Yeah. And it’s at all times enjoyable to learn the way somebody is utilizing the gadget and simply being like, “Effectively, I by no means thought of that.” That’s superb that it may well slot in there and be utilized in that approach.

Samantha, you talked about this a bit bit-

Yeah. You get all these of us collectively, it’s simply superb. And I really like attending to go and simply discover on the market’s so many individuals that do this sort of work and work in these fields, and simply with the ability to see what they’ve discovered, what they know and study from their experiences. Yeah, it’s at all times superb. It’s a couple of three-month excessive often, coming again. It’s about that lengthy to catch up from being gone too, however…

Yeah, precisely. Yeah. No, no, it’s all good.

Samantha, you talked about this, however are you able to simply let our listeners know what’s one of the best ways for them to seek out out extra?

Yeah, certain. So Speaking Keyboards proper now, I’d say, go to the web site, talkingkeyboards.com. We’re additionally on social media beneath Speaking Keyboards with an S. if you wish to study extra, it reveals the place we’re bought. So a wide range of of us proper now promote our product, however you should buy direct on our web site, Amazon, if that’s most popular as a result of your stuff is saved there. Rehabmart, we work with AliMed, and there’s plenty of documentation on our web site for SLPs. How do you undergo insurance coverage? What codes are we beneath? Which is an entire part for individuals. Why is the Okay-12 unit useful? There’s an entire documentation space. And once more, why is this useful over image based mostly units? Poke across the web site, go examine it.

Superior. We’ll put that down within the present notes, so of us can simply discover it. Effectively, Samantha, thanks a lot for approaching at this time, for telling us all about Speaking Keyboards and the nice work that you just all do and letting us study all about it.

Thanks for the nice work you do. So thanks very a lot.

Do you have got a query about assistive expertise? Do you have got a suggestion for somebody we should always interview on Assistive Know-how Replace? In that case, name our listener line at 317-721-7124. Ship us an electronic mail at tech@eastersealscrossroads.org, or shoot us a notice on Twitter at INDATA Undertaking. Our captions and transcripts for the present are sponsored by the Indiana Phone Relay Entry Company or InTRAC. You’ll find out extra about InTRAC at relayindiana.com. A particular because of Nicole Prieto for scheduling our superb friends and making a multitude of my schedule. Right now’s present was produced, edited, hosted, and fraught over by yours actually. The opinions expressed by our friends are their very own and will or might not mirror these of the INDATA Undertaking, Easterseals Crossroads, our supporting companions or this host. This was your Assistive Know-how Replace. I’m Josh Anderson with the INDATA Undertaking at Easterseals Crossroads in lovely Indianapolis, Indiana. We stay up for seeing you subsequent time. Bye-bye.