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Jason LiversidgeYorkshireman with motor neurone disease
Country:
 Great Britain |
Content:
- Jason Liversedge: A Yorkshireman With a Robotic Voice
- A Personalized Robotic Voice
- A Voice with Character
- A Voice for His Family
- A Voice Thanks to Harry Potter
Jason Liversedge: A Yorkshireman With a Robotic Voice
Diagnosed with motor neurone disease, Yorkshireman Jason Liversedge has defied his condition by retaining his distinctive accent even after losing his ability to speak.
A Personalized Robotic Voice
Now 41, family man Jason Liversedge has been living with motor neurone disease, which robbed him of his speech. However, a team of experts has created a "personalized robotic voice" that Jason now uses.
To preserve Jason's North Yorkshire twang, the team used similar technology to that used by Professor Stephen Hawking, who also suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Liversedge was diagnosed with the degenerative central nervous system condition in 2014. As his condition progressed, Jason gradually lost his ability to speak.
A Voice with Character
Rather than settle for a generic computer-generated voice, Jason received a voice that sounds uniquely like him, complete with his local accent. Experts studied recordings of Jason's original voice, including a speech he gave at his sister's wedding. Close associates, including his best friend Phil White, also "donated" their voices when Jason's speech became increasingly slurred.
A Voice for His Family
Speaking to BBC's "Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire," Liversedge said he wanted to maintain his voice to communicate with his children, Poppy and Lily, and his wife, Liz. "I want to keep my own personality," Jason said. "I don't want to just sound like a computer. I want my kids and Liz to know that it's me talking, not a computer."
After trying out his new voice, Liversedge said: "It's very good. It's instantly recognizable. It actually sounds really good. It's definitely me."
A Voice Thanks to Harry Potter
The new voice was developed at a specialist center in Edinburgh, with funding from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling.
Dr. Phillipa Rewaj, a speech and language therapist at the Anne Rowling Clinic, said: "For us, your voice is like your face. It's very much your identity. It's what makes you unique. So for people to lose the ability to speak is a really big deal."
