Sheriff diagnosed with MND uses voice tech to keep working

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael, 61, uses synthetic voice technology to continue talking after having been diagnosed with MND.

He said: “I actually asked one guy who I was sentencing if it sounded like they were being sentenced by a Dalek. I suppose if you can keep a bit of a sense of humour it can become less scary.”

Sheriff Carmichael uses the phone app Speakunique to address the court and is hoping to use Grid 3, a more sophisticated app, so he can have conversations in real time.

He said he is comforted by the “open-minded” approach of his superiors. “The sheriff principal [Gillian Wade KC] has been very supportive from the outset,” he said.

“One thing I’ve found with this is you start re-evaluating a lot of things and you really have to be adaptable, so I’m having to adapt to a variety of things and the lawyers here, defence and prosecution, the staff, are also adapting to me a bit, which is very helpful.”

He began to notice something was wrong when he developed a “bit of a lisp”.

“My best friend had MND so I knew that if your speech is off, something is not right. So I went to the doctor. She gave me a thorough examination and told me that she couldn’t find anything obvious wrong.

“It got a bit worse so I went back to the doctor and they then referred me for some tests with the neurological people. That would have been November or December last year.” 

He received his diagnosis in February.

“When they said it, it was very unpleasant. It was still a shock, yes, but part of me knew that something wasn’t right. Let’s just say I was prepared for bad news.”

He reassured anyone else who receives the same diagnosis that they are in safe hands.

“There’s a consultant in overall charge, there are two senior nurses, there are speech therapists,” he said. “Some is for how you physically speak and others on the IT side. It was one of those who gave me the app and now Grid 3.

“They also have a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, a dietitian and a psychologist. They keep a low profile but are there if you need them – they meet you, they get to know you. If you need something you contact them. They are very professional, very good and very positive.

“They don’t pretend there’s a cure and are not promising anything that can’t be delivered. They are very pragmatic.

Sheriff Carmichael concluded: “Despite the fact we deal with some very grim things, it’s a very welcoming working environment. I feel I’m still contributing and I’m therefore performing a worthwhile role, and it gives me some self respect. I try very much to keep a positive attitude.”