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What is voice, speech, and communication?

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Our ability to communicate (verbally or nonverbally) is essential in expressing wants and needs, forming relationships, conveying information to others, and interacting with our environment. Our ability to produce speech is determined by a complex sequence of physical and cognitive demands. Cognitive disabilities may cause difficulty with communication. Some disabilities don’t affect a person cognitively, however, they may cause difficulties with strength and coordination of mouth movement. This could affect the ability to produce speech that's clear enough or loud enough to be understood. A person with hearing loss may also choose to communicate through nonverbal means.

Aphasia (receptive)—Does the experience convey information using language (audio or text)?

Aphasia (expressive)—Does the experience require language output (voice or text) from the user in order to perform tasks?

Speech quality—Does the experience support voice input?

Social participation—Does the experience support voice input?

Non-verbal—Does the experience require voice in order to perform tasks?

 

The purpose of this reference is to provide concepts people can use to document and discuss aspects of function. Design should happen with people with disabilities, this reference is meant to support that activity, not replace it.