Proloquo4Text: The Assistive Technology That Helped Alice Wong Keep Her Voice (and how voice tech is getting better)
When Alice Wong survived a medical crisis in 2022 that left her unable to speak, she turned to Proloquo4Text, a text-to-speech (TTS) app that became her primary tool for communication. For many people with neuromuscular disabilities, ALS, spinal muscular atrophy, aphasia, or tracheostomies, apps like Proloquo4Text bridge the gap between silence and expression.
Proloquo4Text allows users to type quickly, save common phrases, customize voices, and communicate in real time through a clear synthesized voice. What made the tool so powerful for Alice—and for thousands of disabled users—is its combination of speed, autonomy, and dignity. It enabled her to continue public speaking, writing, collaborating, and advocating even when her body no longer allowed audible speech.
Assistive communication tools are often overlooked in policy conversations, yet they are essential to equal participation. Whether someone is navigating a hospital stay, daily conversations, or political activism, AAC technology ensures that disabled voices are not only heard, but amplified.
Hope on the Horizon: Making AAC Technology More Personal
Wong herself was honest about the technology's shortcomings. In a 2023 essay for KQED, she described Proloquo4Text's voice options as "robotic, clinical, and white." The app mispronounced her slang and couldn't capture her personality or emotions. But here's the good news: the technology is getting so much better, and fast.
New innovations are finally addressing what Wong and thousands of other AAC users have been asking for all along—voices that actually sound like them. Apple's Personal Voice feature now lets people create their own synthesized voice from just 15 minutes of recording. Imagine being able to preserve your actual voice, with all its warmth and character, before a progressive condition takes it away. For families facing an ALS diagnosis or similar challenges, this means loved ones can continue to hear a voice they recognize, maintaining that deeply personal connection.
The options are expanding in other exciting ways too. Modern AAC apps now offer over 150 different voice choices, including newer "neural voices" that sound far more natural and human. Some platforms even work with advanced AI voice cloning technology to create incredibly realistic personal voices. And the apps themselves are getting smarter—learning from how you naturally communicate and predicting what you might want to say next, making conversations flow more easily.
These aren't just technical improvements. They represent something profound: AAC technology is finally moving toward honoring who people really are, rather than forcing everyone into the same robotic box. For anyone who relies on these tools to communicate—or anyone who might need them in the future—that's real reason for optimism.
To learn more about other forms of assistive technology and how it can improve daily life for people with disabilities, visit StartDisability.com's introductory guide to assistive technology.
References
Apple. (2023, May 16). Apple previews Live Speech, Personal Voice, and more new accessibility features. Apple Newsroom. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/05/apple-previews-live-speech-personal-voice-and-more-new-accessibility-features/
AssistiveWare. (2023, August 22). Give your AAC app more personality with Apple's Personal Voice. https://www.assistiveware.com/blog/aac-app-more-personality-apple-personal-voice
AssistiveWare. (n.d.). Proloquo4Text. AssistiveWare. https://www.assistiveware.com/products/proloquo4text
McCarty Carino, M. (2023, May 23). How AI is helping people speak [Interview with Sam Sennott]. Marketplace. https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/how-ai-is-helping-people-speak/
Spoken AAC. (n.d.). Best AAC app for nonverbal autism, aphasia and speech disorders. https://spokenaac.com/
Wong, A. (2023, May 18). Alice Wong: I still have a voice. KQED Perspectives. https://www.kqed.org/perspectives/201601143471/alice-wong-i-still-have-a-voice-2
AI Ethical Statement: This article was generated with help from AI. A human author has substantially edited, arranged, and reviewed all content, exercising creative control over the final output. People and machines make mistakes. Please contact us if you see a correction that needs to be made.
