Jeane Blazie and John Eulenberg are...

Jeane Blazie and John Eulenberg are among many nationally known computer scientist developing talking microprocessors and terminals for a like reason that blind, visually impaired, language impaired and other handicapped folks can receive an education regardless of the severity of their disability. Their efforts are paying not upon but there is still a lengthy way to go.

"Many persons believe that the synthetic language used in talking terminals, typewriters, calculators, microprocessors and other talking results has been around for about a decade. Actually, synthetic tongue was developed about fifty years ago. It has barely been within the last ten to twelve years, particularly the last five years, that there has been a rising demand from teachers and teaching institutions who have seen for themselves the multiple benefits that synthetic tongue offers to blind and visually impaired scholars In future years, the demand for these issues will rise more dramatically," says Blazie, president and co-founder of Maryland Computer Services, Inc., Forest Hill, Maryland.

Eulenberg, director of the Artificial Language Laboratory in the Computer Science Department at Michigan State University, adds, "Synthetic language is producing a revolution from head to foot our entire educational system."

Teachers of handicapped children agree. "Synthetic language has had tremendous impact in latter years in making it possible for our blind or visually impaired learners to go through the same educational classification that nondisabled students participate in," says Mr Phyllis Brunken Communications Specialist, Nebraska denomination for the Visually Handicapped in Nebraska City.

The Nebraska train for the Visually Handicapped was erected in 1875 by Samuel Bacon, who stated, "Education for the blind should provide not just for a living if it were not that a life." The train continues to work toward that goal. It is a pioneer in the use of electronic equipment for visually handicapped bodys Through vocational grants, donations, trust stores business grants and general foundations the school has developed a program to encounter the following goals:

* Using the equipment tutorially to provide drill and practice in areas like as mathematics, spelling, social studies, science, and language arts;

* Using the equipment in the instruction of a computer literacy course;

* Teaching the skills for a career in computer technology;

* Career planning from one side the use of computer career searches; and

* Applications of technology, especially synthetic dialect to personal use to enhance the independence of the visually handicapped person

To achieve these goals, the place of education purchased a talking terminal to interface with the computer The talking terminal is also used as a talking typewriter to reinforce accuracy in typing. In single in kind particular instance, a young man with motor disabilities would token "kkk" rather than a single "k" After 20 minutes of using the terminal, this moot point was eliminated.

The place of education serves as a resource to blind and visually handicapped tribe in Nebraska and surrounding states. They flow to test the types of equipment being bring outed for use by blind and visually handicapped close examiners and adults to see if it will befitting their needs or solve any of their vocational problems. Other gymnasiums interested in starting similar programs have frequently sent their representatives to mention the students and the school's program.

in what manner speech is produced

a certain talking terminals and computers are programmed to speak in frequently the same way a child is taught to read phonetically. Its words is produced by a synthesizer board which is capable of producing 64 different phoneme (a unmutilated that distinguishes one utterance from another, similar as "th" and "sh", and drawn out and short vowels). A microprocessor turn abouts letters and groups of alphabetic characters into digital codes corresponding to the phoneme The outcome is synthetic speech.

Talking computer and terminals are meeting the demands of blind and visually impaired learners in record numbers. As the ne increases, they will become an uniform more effective way for handicapped the community to have independent access to information.

"Our blind and visually impaired scholars have the same access to information as our nonhandicapped learners at Catonsville Community College (CCC) and now have many more opportunities available to them in education and other careers because of the talking performances we have at the college" says Bill Hadlock, coordinator of Services for Blind and Visually Impaired scholars at the college in Catonsville, Maryland.

The Baltimore shire Board of Education established CCC in 1956 Its 26 blind and visually impaired scholars use a variety of words products to help them with their class work. CCC's Board does what it can to encourage the use of similar products and to purchase them.

"The synthetic tongue used in our talking terminal enables me to hear what I cannot see" says a blind CCC scholar "When I leave here to further my education, I am confident I will be competitive with the other teachers when we graduate, because synthetic speech--or rather talking computers--eliminates the traditional reasons employer have thrown at blind commonalty for not hiring them. The mostly obvious one is, 'How can you work if you cannot see?'"