BALTIMORE - The iPhone has gotten a lot of praise for being a cool gadget, but it is also helping people with developmental disabilities and those recovering from brain injuries find their voice.

The fact 20-year-old Brittany Perkey is alive at all is a miracle to her family. Last April the Upper Marlboro college sophomore barely survived a car accident.

"It's a true blessing," said her father, Tim Perkey. "We are very fortunate she is where she is today, because there was a time they didn't know if she was going to make it at all."

After 5 and a half months in a coma, Brittany started the long road to recovery. But she's doing it without her voice.

While undergoing extensive speech therapy at Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute, Brittany is using an iPhone application to talk for her.

"I like the color pink and shopping," she says, through the device.

» on the Web: ProLoQuo2Go

The application, or app, is called ProLoQuo2Go. Pro Lo Quo means "to speak out loud" in Latin. It's just a few months old, but already is having a huge impact for people who can't speak.

"Children with down syndrome have been very successful, children with autism, adults with autism," said Samuel Sennott, a co-creator of the application. "We've had users with ALS who have been very successful."

The Kennedy Krieger Institute's Kristen Allison says the system is perfect for someone like Brittany.

"For someone like Brittany, who has all of her thoughts in there and knows exactly what to say, when they get an augmentative system you see a really huge difference right away," Allison said.

A user can create icons with pre-formulated sentences or can type out thoughts in real time that the iPod Touch or iPhone then turns into spoken words.

"I'm impressed. I can now say how I feel," Brittany said through the device.

Brittany's father says the application has brought back a sense of normalcy to the family

"She can just tell me," Perkey said. "I can talk to her across the room; we can have a conversation; she can be included in a conversation when people are talking; she can talk whenever she wants."

Doctors are hopeful Brittany will eventually be able to speak again.

While there are medical speech devices she could use, they often cost $3,000 to $5,000.  This application, an iPhone and speakers can be purchased for about $500. 

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