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As someone who is not mute myself, but because I live alone, I often find myself speaking to myself just in my mind.

I do not intend to be mean or rude to this community. I understand my privilege of being able to voice my thoughts audibly, but I'm curious to know how the community manages it's thoughts.

Sincere apologies if it hurts sentiments.

I've been unable to speak these last 4 months, and conveying what I want ranges from inconvenient to infuriating.

I currently use either the notes app, or Google translate and the audio button on that to communicate, but I'm wondering if there's any better options. I saw an app on this community's wiki called speak for me, but I cannot find it anywhere. Google Translate just doesn't sound human, and it makes me feel like I'm an emotionless husk or bot.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Hi!

I’m a graduate student in Design Engineering at Harvard, and I’m currently working on a project that explores new ways to support communication using non-invasive Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology combined with AI voice.

This study is in its early stages, and I would love to connect with individuals in the Boston area who are open to trying out some of our ideas and providing feedback. This is a user testing opportunity for those who are curious about emerging technologies and interested in helping shape something that could make a real difference.

Your time and insights would be incredibly valuable to us as we refine this project. If you’re interested or would like to learn more, please feel free to DM me!

Thank you so much for considering this, and I deeply appreciate any help or feedback you can offer.

Is anyone aware of therapy resources or directories that lead to therapists that will accommodate mutism in the US. Virtual appointments are needed due to being on immunosuppressive medication.

I recently built an app that leverages AI to make and handle phone calls. I wasn't initially targeting people with speech difficulty, but it came to mind that this could benefit this community the most. This is related to a post that I posted previously.

The app is still in the early phases. I am looking for people who would like to try it and give feedback on whether it is something that could help this community. Please post a comment if you are interested.

Also, I am not experienced with accessibility :-(. If the video or the app is pretty bad, please let me know, and I will try to fix it.

## Update:

Talia_Arts made a good point below. The app is not meant to replace calls to socialize and it simply can't. I was wondering more about if it can help with tasks where users don't care much about how things are said, e.g., booking appointments, reservations, or simple customer service requests

Below is a demo of how it works:

https://reddit.com/link/1gyy2mn/video/4u4fwifj9w2e1/player

I have a friend who is mute and i struggle to get to know them better as i don't really wanna just bombard them with a ton of questions but i don't know how to get to know them better naturally. Like don't get me wrong I know stuff about what there into like Pokémon and football but that's it and I only really know he's into Pokémon but that's it and i find it hard to talk about Pokémon like if i wanted to know his opinion on certain Pokémon topics. I find it hard and i would like any suggestions to talking to someone mute.

Sorry i cant explain well.

I have a close friend we call Ency, who's entirely mute. He's in my friend circle's discord server, where we frequently join a voice chat. Sometimes he joins a call and tries to type in the channel, but it's rarely seen because everyone is watching a stream or something. I kind of worry his resignation to just be there silently is because he feels left out
Is there anything we can use to give him a way to talk? Like some kind of TTS program to read what he types?

Hi. Here is a quick introduction to help you understand my situation. I am a teenager with autism and severe anxiety. I don't know if those are factors that contribute to this, but I thought that it was a possibility so I just wanted to write it down.

I have a stutter. It only comes out a couple times a day, but when it does, it's very severe. I repeat sounds and words and forget what I'm saying midway through a sentence, and sometimes even midway through a word, and it just makes people, including myself, look at me weird and it makes me confused. I feel like it would be easier to just not have to deal with trying to talk. This only started recently developing with my realization that people don't care about what I have to say. It's almost like I'm trying to avoid talking to and annoying people but I also am so used to it that I can't stop. For a while I've been telling myself that I truly just annoy people with my talking, but only recently I realized that it is genuinely true. I constantly repeat things when people don't hear or listen to me even though I try to get myself to stop. I have to try so hard not to, but it's also even more tiring to talk. I am also transgender, female to male, and I find that my voice is extremely feminine. Recently people have been commenting on it and that has been making my dysphoria a lot worse, as I already had problems with it before. I'm too young to feel like I can safely go onto testosterone, so that's not an option. I already look feminine, so I feel like my voice just adds to the automatic assumption that I'm female, or that if I say that I'm a dude, people know that I'm trans. I always just want to shut up and recently I've been talking less, but not even on purpose. I feel like my body and mind is finally understanding that talking isn't going to do me any good. I've been fine with that, but recently I met somebody who is selectively mute. For me, it's not fully controllable, but definitely a lot more controllable than being selectively mute. I can tell that she has a hard time with being mute, and it just makes me feel like I want to be something that people have to go through without a choice, and it makes me feel selfish. I feel like how I feel is wrong, and so I'm wondering if it is. Talking is tiring and stressful and it uses up my energy when I have to do it. I used to really enjoy talking, and I used to be able to read things aloud. Things like books for my class, or to my younger cousins. I can still read to my cousins more easily than in school, but even then it's hard. I feel like I have to push to get my voice out.

I mean absolutely no offense with this question I am just curious, but what exactly is it that makes a person mute?

Hiya! A little background real quick: i was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and the removal surgery has permanently damaged my ability to speak. This was 2 years ago. Any advice on any WFH jobs? I can't work Telus or Appen bc my significant other works those 😔🤘

Due to gum infection I can't physically open my mouth or it'll cause intense pain

I work in a deli and have to communicate ooga booga style at the moment to convey information about the food

They're looking at me like im stupid cause they don't understand

Hi everyone!

I’m a Harvard grad student working on a project using Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) and EEG (electroencephalography) to help people communicate. BCIs are devices that can pick up brain activity and turn it into commands—no buttons, no eye movement or speech needed! EEG specifically detects brainwaves through small sensors placed on the head, so it’s non-invasive and safe.

I’d love to hear your thoughts: do you think this could be useful? Have you used or heard of anything similar? I'm interested in feedback from anyone experiencing any range of muteness, for any reason, to make sure we’re on the right track. The “interview” would be super informal—just a casual private chat via reddit if you’re open to it.

Thanks so much for any insights you’re willing to share!

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m working on an extension that aims to help mute and hearing-impaired individuals communicate more effectively on Meets by converting sign language into real-time captions. The idea is to bridge the gap between those who use sign language and others who may not understand it, making virtual meetings more inclusive for everyone.

I’m at a stage where I’m looking for feedback from the community to improve the extension. Here are a few things I’d love to know:

1. Feature Suggestions: What additional features or improvements would you like to see? (e.g., custom sign language support, more accurate captioning, or voice-to-sign-language translation?)
2. Usability: Is there anything that could make the user experience smoother or more intuitive?
3. Pre-existing Tools: Are there any existing apps or tools that already do something similar, and if so, what do you think they do well or could improve on?

Your feedback would be super helpful as I continue developing this project. Please feel free to share any thoughts or experiences related to virtual communication for hearing-impaired individuals. Thanks in advance! 🙏

Looking forward to your insights! 😊

So I'm going to have a surgery on my vocal cords in december. After that I'm forced to be mute for 6 weeks. Any idea how I csn communicate to people that I can't speak. Is there a good text to speece app I could use ?

Hello. I'm selective mute due to autism. In some places I have spoke in years. I want to speak but I want it to be meaningful and special, not just randomly start speaking again. It's just scary, I don't know what to say but I want to say something. Any advice?

Hello, as far as I know I'm not mute. The only times in my childhood I would go silent and be unable to speak is when my dad would yell in my face yelling at me to answer him and I would just freeze in fear and not say anything. In my 30s I was diagnosed with schizoaffective. Lately I've had hallucinations mixed with I believe are real people around me saying they can hear me in my apartment. I can speak freely but I think choosing to go mute in my apartment will help settle down the voices and MAYBE get my neighbors to shut up about me. It's really nerve wracking. I'm fine to speak in other places, even though I don't say much a lot anyways. If I'm not welcome here I can delete my post but looking for some help because I still want to talk to my brother on the phone because we talk every week but I think he'll be really sad if he finds out I'm choosing to be mute in my apartment to hopefully alleviate the anxiety I have around the voices I'm hearing.

I can see that your getting 9 new posts from r/askreddit so lets see if you can get one from here.

Hello! I'm hoping this is a good place to ask:

I want to help my family member be able to communicate again.

A few months ago my family member had a stroke. He survived, but he is almost fully incapacitated.

• He cannot speak nor make any noises

• He cannot see

• He cannot move except he's starting to move his left hand, and he can close his eyes (and sometimes he can move with his neck and shoulders.)

• He CAN hear very well

• As far as we know he kept his memory, recognizes everyone, and his responses times are good for post-stroke.

This is how we're currently communicating with him:

We give him an IF statement (e.g. If you can hear me, do a long blink. If you recognize my voice, do a long blink. If you think I'm Bob, do a long blink. (not Bob, doesn't blink.) If you think I'm Jane, long blink (he does).

We've went through hundreds of questions and if statements, and we've come to the conclusion that he has all his memory (we really hope so) and that he can hear us loud and clear. He's conscious, but our current communication method is difficult and tiring for him.

Plus, it's only one-way, we have to ask first.

What I want to do –since he's starting to move his left hand and fingers– is to get him a very simple remote control, with at least 3 buttons. "Yes," "No," and "Help".

With rehab I'm hoping he will get better control of his left hand and becomes able to press a soft remote button.

I want the button to be linked to speakers, one near him so he can hear what he pressed, and one near his wife so in case he presses "help" she goes to him.

Then for the most common things he needs help with, we can just make a flowchart for the fastest / most-efficient way to solve a problem for him via "Yes" and "No" questions. (Are you in pain? Are you hungry? Do you need company? etc.)

Are there any products out there like this that already exist? (the remote and speakers?)

I honestly don't even know what to Google to look for something like this! All my searches are returning the wrong things.

I can try to make one, but if it already exists it would save us a lot of time to not have to re-invent the wheel.

I want him to feel that he can talk to us and get our attention because I know it must be depressing for him not having a communication outlet AT ALL

Thank you so much in advance for your help and consideration!

Delete if not allowed I'm so sorry. Hi! I am selectively mute. The most talking I do at work and it's answering the phone when it rings once or twice. Sometimes not at all. Other than that, I am mute. My partner has started to learn sign language to communicate with me. We don't sign ALOT because his family is frustrated and uncomfortable with me about it. His sisters think I am speaking badly about them so they told me to either get up and leave the room to sign to each other or text each other across the room. It's gotten to the point that I'm actually very ashamed of wanting to communicate. I also tried a little white board type thing to help communicate but they also didn't like that. I'm at a loss for words on what to do now. I don't know how to express to them about how this is how I communicate and even my partner is starting to speak more and refusing to sign with me anymore. Or it's just us alone in the room if we do sign. I don't know how to feel really. Any advice or help is much appreciated

I wasn't born mute, but I recently contracted a severe respiratory infection that caused permanent damage to my throat. It's to the point where I can't even make high pitches or scream anymore, despite my fever going down and all the other symptoms improving. My primary doctor told me they can tell I have permanent damage, but nothing can be "official" until I see an Otolaryngologist, but since I can scarcely even take big gups of water or chew food anymore, the possibility of me ever talking again is something I won't hold my breath on.

Frankly, I'm here not to throw a pity party, but looking for answers on how to live this new life. I know I can, and well, but I just don't know how because I never met a mute person. I currently work at a fast food joint, but I obviously can't even take orders anymore. How should I talk to my employer about my new condition, or explore other options of employment? They know about my condition because I have missed many days of work since I was 102-103 degrees F without fever reducers for four days and obviously had to get some medical attention.

I guess I never realised how important verbal communication was in my life until I lost it. I don't know where to go from here. Thank you for reading

I'm in the process of writing a novel that features a selectively mute male main character.

I'm wanting to portray his life experiences as accurately as possible. So my question is when telling people you are mute how often do they assume you are deaf?

Has anyone had experiences with people thinking they need to shout at you so you can hear them?

These are things I've heard of in passing but I have no actual experiences to draw from, nor do I know anyone that is mute to ask. TIA for any insites.

I am autistic and for the last two years speaking has been so hard, now I can’t speak without feeling so exhausted. I have to force words out and it hurts to do that, sometimes the words just won’t come out no matter what. Over time my speech gets worse, it hurts even more to speak and I cry when I have to speak a lot because it hurts. I don’t know why exactly this is happening but it’s probably something to do with my autism. I started using AAC sometimes but I feel like I need to use it all the time because when I speak it’s so painful and it hurts. I am thinking of ways to tell people about me using AAC full time but I am nervous that they will not want me to use AAC, I made this post to ask for some advice so if you have any I would love to read it.

I recently had a brain Tumor removed and have (I hope) temporary larnx paralysis, so no voice. Best I can do is a hoarse whisper, not audible over cell phone call.

I have an android Samsung, new model. The phone app has a TTS mode but it converts whole call to TTS. Other end can no longer speak. I just need my end TTS and other end Normal. I have looked in Google play store and Galaxy store. I have a hard time accepting this is not doable somehow.

Any suggestions ?

Is making a Joke where you say "wanna hear my impression of a mute person" and either just standing there or making mouth movements while silent an ablest joke? I made this joke to some friends and some expressed concern to this being offensive so I wanted to ask a mute person if this would be or not to make sure.

Hi, I have selective mutism. Sometimes I have a small amount of speech that I can access when i'm mute and can force myself to talk but when I do force myself to talk my mind goes completely blank, I fully stumble over my words, say them out of order, pronounce them wrong, and end up saying the wrong thing altogether so I just write what I wanna say so it's easier for everyone. Anyways I was wondering if I should include that im mute at the beginning of the notes I write? (for ordering at restaurants specifically) Has this helped people to be more understanding or have you found you get treated worse once you tell them? It would just be a short note saying "Hi, i'm mute, I cannot talk. Can I get: (and then i'd put whatever I wanna order here)" or would it be better to not tell them at all? Please share your experiences with me <3

Has anyone else here used Relate from Google? Formerly project Euphonia?

It began as a project to focused on assisting speech for individuals suffering from als but expanded to other groups of individuals with “non-standard” speech.

https://sites.research.google/euphonia/about/

https://sites.research.google/relate/

I have bi-lateral vocal cord paralysis and speak with the back of my throat. Which leaves me with a raspy breathy voice. I came across project euphonia a few years ago but it maybe a resource for some. It has transitioned into the Google Relate program. There may be a waitlist for it but the goal was to provide speech samples from non standard speakers to train their speech detection machine learning model.

Hello,
I’ve developed an app that helps people manage phone calls by handling incoming calls and making outgoing calls on their behalf. The app can also convert conversations into text, allowing users to interact with phone calls without needing to speak or hear. I’m considering offering this service for free to individuals with speech or hearing difficulties, as I believe it could be helpful for those who face challenges with phone communication.

However, I understand that I might not fully grasp the daily challenges faced by individuals in the mute or hard-of-hearing communities, and I don’t want to make assumptions. That’s why I’m reaching out to ask for your feedback.

Do you find phone communication difficult, and would a service like this that converts calls to text and handles calls for you be useful? What features would you like to see to make it truly valuable? Your thoughts and insights would be incredibly helpful in shaping this app to better support your needs.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!

#####################

Update: 11/12/2024

I was able to complete an early version of this app. For now, it web only but mobile apps will be release with the next 2 weeks. If you are interested, you can visit: www.assindo.com (limited to the USA and Canada for now)

Use this coupon to get access to 3month for free: REDDITMUTE. If the coupon expires, or your near 3month expiry, please send an email to founder@assindo.com to claim a forever free coupon. (my goal to make the app free forever from mute and deaf community, if things works out and it really can help)

Note, it is an early version and expect issues and don't rely on it as your main communication tool for now. Please reach out to for any additional feedback or improvement that may help your phone call experience improves

Hello, I have a lot of issues when I get sick, usually I get sick several times a year, and each time I usually lose my voice. Being unable to speak for like 1/10th out of the year can get pretty frustrating, and recently during my last infection I tried using TTS apps. I found some that worked but were mediocre and kind of hard to use. Just need some advice on what apps y'all might recommend. Thank you!

I have asked the same question in disability subreddit, but I have decided to ask here as well. I have severe stutter. I have many block and repetition. It's hard to speak and it takes me a lot of effort to speak with people. And it gets worse If I talk with someone who I don't know. So, now the question itself. I often use taxi because of tight schedule. In my country I can choose a special option when I take taxi. Such as "I'm in wheelchair", "I'm deaf" and so on. One of the options called "I'm mute but can hear you". I'm thinking to try it for some time. Normally, mentality (in my country) includes small taks with drivers which triggers my anxiety and stutter. So, is it appropriate use this option or no? What do you think?

I use T-Mobile IP Relay for phone calls, but they make a lot of typos and take so long to transcribe automated message options that we get hung up on before I can tell them what number to press.

My cell carrier does not support my phone's RTT/TTY function, so I can't use 711. I contacted Google Fi Support and they confirmed this.

Does anyone know of a better option to make phone calls?