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The whole thing
started because members of the former Lions Club of Buckingham took a local
man to his monthly Laryngectomee Club meeting at Milton Keynes Hospital each
month.
For those people who are not sure, a laryngectomee is a person who, for some
reason, usually due to cancer, has had their larynx, or voice box surgically
removed.
The larynx is located at the bottom of your throat, your throat being quite
a handy junction for the windpipe, or trachea, and the oesophagus, which
leads down to the stomach. During the operation the two pipes are separated.
The windpipe is brought out through a hole, or stoma, at the front, and the
mouth now only leads to the stomach, through the oesophagus.
The voice is something we take for granted. Air from the lungs passes over
the vocal chords which start to vibrate, making a sound which we form into
speech, singing or whatever with the mouth, nasal cavity, lips & tongue.
The more air from the lungs, the louder the sound.
It is still possible to form speech without vocal cords, using the mouth etc
to form the words. The main problem is that, without the main air
reservoirs, the lungs, the only other place you can get air from is the
oesophagus, which means swallowing air and burping it back forming the sound
you want with your mouth etc.[nicknamed ‘Burp Speech’, but otherwise known
as Oesophagus Speech)
With practice, this can produce quite an intelligible form of speech. The
only drawback is the amount of air that is available from the oesophagus is
limited therefore the volume is low, sometimes down to a whisper.
And this is where LIONS came in!
One of the other members of the laryngectomee (Larry) club, Bonnie O’Brian
had bought a small amplifier and tie clip microphone from Tandy’s to use
when he was at his ex Serviceman’s club to make himself heard over the usual
hub-bub of noise.
He couldn’t use the mike clipped to his tie, or lapel as it picked up the
wheezing sound he made breathing through his stoma. Instead, he taped the
mike to a stick to hold to his lips.
The only problem was, he enjoyed a game of cards and wanted two free hands
to play.
He asked the Buckingham Lions Club for help. They thought over his problem
and with the aid of some scraps of plastic tube and wire, mounted the mike
so that it would clip to his glasses allowing the mike to be placed near his
lips. That only left the switching on and off of the amplifier. That was
solved by making up a simple remote switch on the end of a lead and
modifying the amplifiers switching circuit.
It worked for Bonnie and soon other club members wanted one, then members of
a club in Northampton heard about it, and they wanted some, and the project
was born, literally, a garage industry.
The Buckingham Lions Club initially funded the purchase of the bits and
pieces and they sold them on to recover the costs.
At that time, Past District Governor (PDG) David Green was the Region
Chairman and, during one of his visits to the club, heard about the project
and thought that it could become a 'District' project. So in January 1989
the Club wheeled Bonnie and his amplifier in front of the Cabinet for a
demonstration, they thought it would be a good idea as well.
A working committee was formed and a few months later, with the aid of
donations from other Clubs in the 105A District, The Lions Laryngectomy
Project was started.
Initially, the Tandy amplifier was still used but modified slightly. The
microphone came with its own little battery and pre-amplifier that proved to
be a bit fiddly, so the main amplifier was modified to incorporate the
circuitry required for the mike.
In the first year about 100 were sold.
The project expanded
when, over the years, Speech and Language Therapists’ in other parts of the
country heard about the unit and started to try it out with other client as
well as Larry's. It was found useful to MS, Motor Neuron Disease &
Parkinson’s Disease sufferers as well as victims of strokes and any other
affliction which reduced the volume of the voice during normal speech. The
Amplifier changed shape when Tandy imported from a different source.
The projects name was changed to Speech Aid when people other that
laryngectomees started to take an interest and buy them.
People who use them now include stroke victims, people with Parkinson’s
disease, Motor Neurone disease, Multiple Sclerosis and in fact anything that
can rob a person of volume of speech.
When supplies of the amplifiers threatened to dry up, it was decided to
produced their own model for the first time and that proved to be very
popular with users. The unit has developed with improvements such as to
provide a touch contact on/off switch, an indicator light and an isolation
switch for transportation as well as a lightweight speaker which has cut
down the weight of the unit. We also now buy in a lightweight head
microphone which has brought the looks of the unit in line with other modern
communications devices.
The Project is now called “Lions Speech Aid “ and provides a useful,
low cost speech amplifier at the economy end of the market .
The device is intentionally low tech to keep the price down and is targeted
at cash strapped NHS Trust departments to provide a low cost starter device
for their clients. Similar commercial devices on the market start with a
cost of greater than £300 which many clients find prohibitive.
Average sales over the past few years are 20 to 40 per annum. While this
sounds low, this is a very small and a highly competitive market. Our units
are hand built in a UK based “garage industry” . Just 40 units are presently
in stock, but the manufacturer is always on standby for the next production
run, which might take up to 3 months for 40 units.
Lions Speech Aid was never intended as a high volume sales
initiative, more as a slow feed to a needy, narrow focused market to help
those most in need and less able to fund their needs, and as such it has and
continues to succeed.
The Speech Aid is not unique; there are several of them on the
market, at a price.
When it was first started, other amplifiers were large and bulky or very
expensive, over £250, and all used small hand-held microphones. Now there
are other aids with boom microphones, but they are still very expensive. We
have managed to keep our price down to £80, with the switch an extra £10.
Our Aid comes with its microphone and carry pouch.
A 9-volt PP3 battery powers it and its output is approx. 325 m/W.
It measures 103 x 62 x 23mm and weighs approx. 160 gms (battery included)
It is fitted with a clip to allow it to be hooked onto a pocket, belt or
neck-cord etc.
We are constantly
trying to improve the Aid to make it more convenient for the user. Sales are
unpredictable, after all, it is a rather specialist field and a relatively
small market. Some years we have sold between 80 & 100 however last year was
down to only 20.
Customers can be
private individuals, Hospital NHS Trusts, Speech & Language Therapy units
and organisations such as the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the
Parkinson’s Disease Association.
Lions Speech Aid is non-profit making; all proceeds are banked with the
105A District Treasurer and go towards the production of the next batch and
the supply of leaflets, stationery etc.
Read more about this and other Lion Projects
for the Hearing and Speech impaired. |
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The Lions Speech Aid
LIONS SPEECH AID. DESIGNED, DEVELOPED & MARKETED BY LIONS
OF DISTRICT 105A (Bucks, Herts, Beds, Oxon & N London) ON BEHALF OF LIONS
CLUBS INTERNATIONAL MULTIPLE DISTRICT 105 ENTIRELY AS A NON-PROFIT MAKING
CHARITABLE ACTIVITY
A typical Speech Aid system
Boom mike and headset
Remote Switch
DG Ken Rouse (Left), Lion David Lloyd and
President David Garlick (Right)
At a Club Meeting in April 2008 the
District Governor Ken Rouse
presents an International President’s Award for the work carried
out over the last 20 years by Lion David Lloyd for Lions Speech Aid.
How can I get one?
Orders with appropriate remittance
should be sent to:
David Lloyd
Lions Speech Aid
3 Campbell Close
Buckingham MK18 7HP
Tel: 0845 8338549 email -
speechaid@lions.org.uk
Cheques should be made payable to:
“LCI 105A Speech Aid.”
NHS Trust Orders should be made through the Trusts procurement system.
An invoice will be issued giving BACS
and cheque payment details.
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