Cath’s journey with MND
Cath is a Grid Pad 13 user who recently started using a personalised voice from ElevenLabs. Living with MND, she shares her journey of using assistive technology to stay independent and connected. A passionate advocate and fundraiser, Cath has helped raise over £100,000 for MND related charities by organising a wide range of events and fundraisers. She enjoys digital painting and last year she put her creative skills to work by designing a charity shirt for the Leeds Rhinos Rugby team. Hi, my name is Cath and my MND journey started in 2013 with bad cramps and twitches, so after visiting the GP they thought it was a trapped nerve. After visits to various specialists and nerve conduction tests, we had a private consultation in 2014 when it was confirmed I had MND. At the time I was running a busy business in a local town employing 20 people. I have been married to Ian for 42 years and we have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren. Now we still have a busy life and spend time with friends and lots of fundraising. I have been lucky as the progression is quite slow. Today I am unable to walk, talk, eat, speak and breathe without assistance. I have a small amount of movement left in 2 fingers and my shoulders. I would like people to know that whilst MND is a horrendous disease there can still be good times as well. I honestly don’t know what I would do without my eye gaze device. I use it from getting up until going to bed. I was very lucky in that I found it easy to use right from the start. I use it as I did my phone, with apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram and also for email and internet searches. My friends love my new Grid Pad 13, particularly with the second screen which shows when I am typing and also shows my words. It is much better in social environments or when I need to be discreet. One of the best things I have discovered is Artrage software, which I use to paint with. It took me about a year to get the hang of it but was definitely worthwhile. I have painted greeting cards and calendars which have raised over £5000 for the MND Association. I was also lucky to be asked by Leeds Rhinos Rugby League team to design their 2024 charity shirt. Cath’s Leeds Rhinos shirts, worn by the Smartbox team I think it was about 6 or 7 years ago that I banked my voice. I had to record around 16,000 phrases which was very boring but thankfully I persevered. My voice went very quiet so I used a small microphone and speaker at first. We used the recordings from when I first banked my voice, and cleaned up the audio slightly. This audio was then used to make a professional voice clone that uses AI to create an authentic, human sounding digital voice. My ‘New Voice’ as I call it, is great. It is much softer and flows better than my old one which sounded quite clunky and abrupt. My new voice is much better when I am with my grandchildren or friends. My advice to others with MND is to bank your voice as soon as possible to retain your original sound and accent. It’s so much easier now. The ElevenLabs voice is as close to your original voice as I think you can get. It really sounds like me! Cath’s new voice was created using ElevenLabs, an AI voice platform that enables people to generate authentic voices that sound like them. ElevenLabs voices are available for free for all Grid users over the age of 18. Follow the steps below to get your voice: Additionally, we can provide a free ElevenLabs voice for AAC professionals to demo with a 12-month Pro License, helping more clinicians test and demonstrate the quality of AI generated voices.Cath’s story, in her own words
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your experience with MND?
How has assistive technology helped you?
Can you tell us more about your experience with voice technology?
How did you get an ElevenLabs voice?
How does your ElevenLabs voice compare with your previous voice?
What advice do you have for other people with MND?
How to get an ElevenLabs voice