Latest / CareTalk: Healthcare. Unfiltered. / Overcoming Challenges in Speech with AAC w/ Smartbox CEO, Dougal Hawes

Transcript

Overcoming Challenges in Speech with AAC w/ Smartbox CEO, Dougal Hawes · CareTalk: Healthcare. Unfiltered.

• 0:00
  Many people with disabilities have difficulty speaking and they need help to communicate and achieve independence.
• 0:06
  So how can technology help?
• 0:13
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• 1:22
  Welcome to Health Biz Briefs.
• 1:24
  I'm David Williams, president of Health Business Group here with Dougal Hawes.
• 1:28
  He is group CEO of SmartBox Assistive Technology, which enables communication and independence for those who experience difficulty with speech.
• 1:36
  Welcome, Dougal.
• 1:37
  Well, thank you very much.
• 1:39
  So what is augmentative and alternative communication, otherwise known as AAC?
• 1:45
  And how many people would benefit from it if they had it available?
• 1:48
  Yeah.
• 1:49
  So AAC is the phrase, as you say, augmentative and alternative communication that refers to the solutions people might use if they have challenges with their communication.
• 2:00
  And that ranges from anything from sign language or using a pen and paper or a letter board, spelling board, something like that.
• 2:09
  Right after what we specialize in, is high tech solutions, which where you're using an adapted computer, essentially running specialist software that enables people to communicate if they're unable to speak or they choose not to speak.
• 2:24
  Got it.
• 2:25
  And what sort of solutions are there out there today?
• 2:29
  And to what degree are they serving the needs?
• 2:31
  Because the needs are pretty complex and varied, as I have understood it.
• 2:35
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 2:37
  So we have a way of seeing this where it's ultimately everyone has a very unique set of needs, everyone that we work with, depending on their condition and how it presents.
• 2:47
  So we need tools that are really customizable and can be adapted to meet the needs of the individual.
• 2:55
  People might be born with a disability and they also born without literacy and language skills.
• 3:00
  So you've got to provide a solution for that.
• 3:03
  Or it might be an acquired disability that might mean physical access is the big challenge or word finding, order of words if you're suffering from aphasia, something like that.
• 3:14
  So it's really varied who we'd work with and how we would help them.
• 3:19
  And just to refer to your earlier point about the need, so globally it's estimated 50 million people would benefit from AAC today and of those 50 million, very few, like less than 2 % are currently being provided for.
• 3:36
  So what do you see changing over the next few years?
• 3:38
  I mean, there's obviously a lot happening with technology, maybe awareness of disabilities.
• 3:45
  What's going to happen?
• 3:46
  We're going to get beyond 2 % and are the technologies going to evolve?
• 3:50
  Yeah, we're definitely going get beyond 2 % because I think we've made it our mission to do so.
• 3:55
  And I think we are seeing many signs that awareness and understanding of AAC is increasing all the time.
• 4:02
  In fact, just in the last week, there's a new film on Disney Plus called Out of My Mind, which is all about a young girl growing up in the 90s who uses AAC.
• 4:12
  She has cerebral palsy and uses AAC and stuff, all about her journey of using that technology.
• 4:18
  awareness is crucial for us.
• 4:21
  But of course, the better the technology, the better it works, the more people that will use it.
• 4:25
  So advances in AI, advances in voice technology.
• 4:31
  and the core platform we're using, everything is improving rapidly.
• 4:35
  And the better it gets, the more people will accept it and want it.
• 4:38
  And the more we will be equipped to solve this big global problem.
• 4:44
  want to ask you a question.
• 4:45
  A lot of our people who listen to the podcast are just listening to it.
• 4:50
  But some people are also watching it.
• 4:53
  And I noticed your background looks kind of interesting.
• 4:55
  And I wonder if there's anything behind it, so to speak.
• 4:58
  Yeah, that's a question.
• 5:00
  So we asked a local artist to come in and create a mural for us here in our office.
• 5:06
  And the two things we wanted in it were coffee, because we're kind of fueled by coffee.
• 5:12
  And you can see the device there.
• 5:14
  That's kind of an artist's impression of an AAC device, which looks a lot like an iPad.
• 5:19
  So yeah, was kind of two people communicating, drinking coffee.
• 5:23
  And that's kind of an artistic reflection of what we do here in our offices.
• 5:28
  Very nice.
• 5:29
  Well, that's it for the latest Health Biz Brief.
• 5:31
  If you like what you hear, check out my Health Biz Podcast for a full-length interview with Dougal about his life and career.
• 5:38
  Dougal Hawes, Group CEO of Smartbox Assistive Technologies, thanks for joining me on Health Biz Briefs.
• 5:44
  Thank you very much.