Use of speech generating devices can improve perception of qualifications for skilled, verbal, and interactive jobs.

Background: We have previously demonstrated that when speech generating devices (SGD) are used as assistive technologies, they are preferred over the users' natural voices.

Objective: We sought to examine whether using SGDs would affect listener's perceptions of hirability of people with complex communication needs.

Methods: In a series of three experiments, participants rated videotaped actors, one using SGD and the other using their natural, mildly dysarthric voice, on (a) a measurement of perceptions of speaker credibility, strength, and informedness and (b) measurements of hirability for jobs coded in terms of skill, verbal ability, and interactivity.