assistive

This paper describes handicapped accessible text-to-speech markup software developed for poetry and performance. Most text-to-speech software allows the user to select a voice, but provides no control over performance parameters such as rate, volume, and pitch. For users with vocal disabilities, the default "computer voice" is often dreaded since it provides no personalization. Evolving standards exist for text-to-speech markup (Sable, Java Speech Markup Language, Spoken Text Markup Language), but few tools exist for non-experts to modify documents using these prosody options [1, 5]. Furthermore, we could find fewer tools allowing for straightforward live performance using a synthesized voice [3]. Thus we created an easy to learn text-to-speech markup tool that requires little training to use.

EdgeWrite is a new unistroke text entry method for handheld devices designed to provide high accuracy and stability of motion for people with motor impairments. It is also effective for able-bodied people. An EdgeWrite user enters text by traversing the edges and diagonals of a square hole imposed over the usual text input area. Gesture recognition is accomplished not through pattern recognition but through the sequence of corners that are hit. This means that the full stroke path is unimportant and recognition is highly deterministic, enabling better accuracy than other gestural alphabets such as Graffiti. A study of able-bodied users showed subjects with no prior experience were 18% more accurate during text entry with Edge Write than with Graffiti (p>.05), with no significant difference in speed. A study of 4 subjects with motor impairments revealed that some of them were unable to do Graffiti, but all of them could do Edge Write. Those who could do both methods had dramatically better accuracy with Edge Write.