Speech to Text program?

Hawk

Hey all,
Just a little background on what I need and why.
I have an elderly person who I built a pc for.
He has mild Parkinson's that causes slight tremors of the hands.
For that reason I have setup a specific type of trackball mouse he can use easily. So, he does like to surf the news and whatnot online.
Not to mention as he says "I'm not that good a typist in the first place."
He mentioned he heard about speech to text programs that are out there now and wanted to know if I could find out more about it. (whether they are any good or not.)
If they work well and are not too expensive he would like me to install it on his pc.
He would really like to correspond by letters again as he has pretty much quit writing by hand because the tremors make his writing unreadable.
Except to the few of those in his family that know his writing and can decipher it.
I haven't used any speech to text software what so ever.
That's why I'm inquiring here.
Thinking maybe someone here has used it and could tell me of their experience with it being good or bad, user friendly, etc.
I read about it quite a few times over the last 3-4 yrs or so and assume it has come a long way since it's beginnings.
So, If anyone here has used speech to text software, I'd appreciate a little heads up on whether it's good, bad, difficult to install/setup etc.
I'm going to be researching it while I await replies also.
Just figured any input I could get here would be a trusted source too.
Thnx for replies friends.

Thrax

The newest versions of Dragon Naturally Speaking are pretty good, but it is absolutely imperative that you get a high-quality headset. No other microphone style will do.

Hawk

Yea Thrax, That's one I've been checking out over all the upgrades it has had.
Seems to be one of the leading speech to text softwares out there so far.
Ahh, So a headset is the best way to use the software huh?
I thought in my own case if I ever used it, that's how I would do it because I use my headset all the time in my office here.
But it never dawned on me that he would need a headset to use it.
I don't even know what I was thinking.
Just a microphone set in front of him I guess. lol Duh...
Thinking about it though, I guess a headset would be best because of the sensitivity of the mic, not to mention the headset would help with hearing.
He is also almost completely deaf in one ear and has a slight hearing impairment in the other. All this (parkinsons,hearing loss) has happened to him in the last year to year and a half.
I'm still researching and anyone else feel free to post input.
Thnx Thrax, Appreciate it bud.

Vicar

Second Thrax on Dragon Naturally speaking.

Leonardo

All this (parkinsons,hearing loss) has happened to him in the last year to year and a half.

Oh, that's just terrible. That really tugs at the heart. Take good care of him, Hawk.

Hawk

Thnx Vicar, leo for your thoughts on this.
Found out that Dragon naturally Speaking comes with a noise canceling headset.
Which is cool.
Strange thing is Leo,
The doctors told him it was a bacterial infection that caused all the hearing loss.
They(doctors have put him through a whole battery of drugs (super antibiotics/ Parkinsons medications etc).
He went to some new doctors and in the process of trying out new drugs..
I guess it's an trial & error thing with each Parkinson's patient.
They found that Ritalin has made a huge difference in his hand tremors. (which were becoming increasingly stronger)
Funny thing is Ritalin is used for ADD in young boys & girls.
It's not usually given to grown men.
He still has problems writing legibly and wants to try Dragon to see if he can use it.
But the lessened tremors in his hands is very noticeable.
Not to mention he says his mind is much clearer and his sleep has greatly improved.
Just a noticeable difference all around.
I for one am very happy for him.
He's still very active and all this has kind of slowed him down.