VocaBeans Help Millions Communicate Again

Nov. 15, 2010 - PRLog -- ANN ARBOR, MI — Nov 15, 2010 — Imagine having a conversation, and suddenly being unable to put your finger on, or to say, the proper word. VocaBeans LLC’s new speech augmentation software, VocaBeans™, released today, contains hundreds of pre-built words and phrases and allows users to create their own by snapping a picture with the device and recording audio to go with it.

For millions of people with autism, aphasia, laryngectomies, and other speech-limiting conditions, inability to say the right words is a daily occurrence. With VocaBeans, finding the right word is as easy as tapping a picture stored on their Apple iPhone® or iPod® Touch and letting the device speak the word or phrase for them.

Each VocaBean (vocabulary bean) combines a picture and audio to represent a word or phrase that might be difficult for the user to say and says it for them. Priced at $49 with 730 commonly used words, plus the ability to build 50 custom words, VocaBeans costs a fraction of the thousands of dollars people living with aphasia now pay for similar products. A starter version with 110 commonly used words, plus the ability to build 10 custom words, is available free.

“My wife has been living with aphasia since her stroke. She has trouble finding the right words to say, like people’s names, places, or feelings,” said George Leon, who helped his wife create new words for her iPod. “It may sound like a simple thing, but VocaBeans helps my wife to communicate again, and that is huge.”

According to the National Aphasia Association and Wikipedia, an estimated 1 million people with Aphasia and 1.5 million people with Autism live in the United States. Another 40 million people globally also live with these conditions. Many of them are missing a very important human ability—to fully communicate.

“The world is filled with software that helps businesses control their operations, but I was shocked at how few products were available for people that were struggling to communicate,” said Bob Gallagher, president of VocaBeans. “My sister in-law has been living with aphasia for several years and I wanted to help her more easily communicate. I searched for a solution to her problem, but found only a few products, which were expensive and required insurance to pay for them. I decided to create a new software program that was more affordable and easy-to-use.”

“Now, on the eve of one of the largest gatherings of speech, language and hearing professionals, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) annual convention, we made VocaBeans generally available on Apple iPhone® and iPod® Touch devices. A free trial version is available via the Apple App Store at the following URL http://itunes.apple.com/app/vocabeans/id399089784?mt=8.

Product Offerings
VocaBeans : 110 commonly used words or beans, plus the ability to build 10 custom beans. Cost = Free.
VocaBeans On-the-Go: 730 commonly used beans, plus the ability to build 50 custom beans. Cost = $49.

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VocaBeans LLC is a company committed to providing high-value low-cost assisted communications solutions for people that have Aphasia, Autism, Laryngectomy, and other conditions that may affect normal speech processing.