Birmingham Man with Cerebral Palsy Obtains New Accent for Communication Device Ahead of Wedding

Jack Reeve, a 22-year-old from Birmingham living with cerebral palsy, has acquired a new West Midlands accent for his communication device in anticipation of his upcoming wedding. Mr. Reeve has utilized a communication device featuring a robotic voice throughout his life. Set to marry his fiancée Bethan in 2026, Mr. Reeve initiated an appeal earlier this year via the West Midlands Ambulance Service, with support from the BBC, to secure a different accent. Approximately 30 individuals volunteered their voices, from which Mr. Reeve selected an anonymous donor possessing a Dudley accent. He stated: “I chose a voice with a Dudley accent as that is where my fiancee is from. I also like the timing of the voice. “I had to listen to them and mark them based on pitch, speed and what I liked and didn’t like about them.”I wanted to make the right choice – it is going to be my voice for the rest of my life.” Mr. Reeve is currently a student at National Star in Cheltenham, an institution that manages the Find My Voice project. This college collaborates with Model Talker, a company specializing in speech synthesis software developed to assist individuals who are experiencing or have already experienced a loss of speech. The software enables students to select their own personalized voice. His parents, Heidi Wells and Chris Reeves, journeyed from Erdington to Cheltenham to experience his new voice. Heidi expressed that she was “super happy, super proud, shed my little tear”. She further commented: “Super thankful to the guy who’s donated his voice to Jack, what a thing to have been able to have done. “I can’t describe it, it’s not very often that I’m speechless, but I’m speechless.” Since 2019, National Star has facilitated the recording of 11 custom voices for various individuals, with recordings provided by family members, friends, members of the public, or professional voice actors. As public funding is presently unavailable, the project relies on donations for its financial support. For updates, follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.