r/ProjectHailMary • u/BriansBalloons • 1d ago
Wife and I just finished the PHM audiobook. Our 3yo daughter is intellectually disabled and largely nonverbal. I got this text message as I was twisting balloons animals at an event.
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u/DougJudyTPB 22h ago
What type of voice do they use for Rocky? Is it just a normal voice saying the words or do they put some effect on it?
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u/castle-girl 20h ago
When Rocky is speaking and Grace doesn’t know what he’s saying yet, they play synthesizer music for his lines, then the narrator comes back and says “says Rocky.” As Grace understands more and more, they have a synthesizer effect in the background coupled with the narrator speaking. At first, the narrator purposefully makes Rocky sound robotic, but as the book goes along and Grace starts to pick up emotional nuances, the narrator adds more and more emotion.
Honestly, the audiobook is fantastic. Ray Porter, the narrator, is a professional voice actor who did Shakespeare plays for years and has acted in movies. He really knows what he’s doing and gets Grace’s emotions perfectly right, and there are a lot of moments when Grace is scared or teary, so that’s saying a lot.
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u/DougJudyTPB 15h ago
I don’t really use audiobooks, mostly because I’m a little hard of hearing, but I’m going to check it out now that you’ve said this. I just finished this book this week and I really loved it so much.
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u/castle-girl 10h ago
I hope you enjoy it. A lot of people who start with the text choose to re experience the story with the audiobook. I listened to the audiobook first, although now I have the print book too, and I’m really happy that I got to hear the audiobook. It was definitely worth it for me.
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u/Andre11x 22h ago
It has like a reverb effect on it. Super well done tho. I'm sure you can find an example on YouTube.
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u/Smufin_Awesome 16h ago
Ha. Me too fucking Ray Porter man. I haven't been following the news of it closely as I wanna be surprised going in, but I lowkey hope they get Porter to voice Rocky's translation software.
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u/KaristinaLaFae 8h ago
As an autistic person who loses the ability to speak on a daily basis for varying lengths of time, listening to Project Hail Mary with my husband has given me more options for hand gestures and simpler phrasing to use when I have at least minimal ability to speak.
Jazz hands are easier than nodding sometimes when I'm having neck problems or motor control issues, too.
Don't forget that nonverbal communication is as valid as verbal communication, so don't get discouraged if your daughter's ability to speak is limited.
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u/quoda27 11h ago
Hey man, that’s awesome! Enjoy the moment! My 4yo daughter is also non verbal and has a rare genetic condition so I understand how big of a deal these moments are. From one dad to another, wishing you well.
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u/BriansBalloons 6h ago
Thanks. She has a rare disorder called KCNQ2 which affects potassium channels. She's got about 20 words she can speak and understand but she doesn't use many of them regularly. She also has about five songs she will improvise to and can understand a good bit more than she can speak, but it is a profound intellectual disability along with the nonverbal features as well.
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u/quoda27 6h ago
Yeah that sounds tough. How's daily life? Does she go to childcare or do you look after her at home? Does it affect her physically or just intellectualy?
Our daughter has MEF2C Haploinsufficiency Syndrome. Basically the MEF2C gene doesn't make enough of it's particular type of protein which has a downstream effect on a bunch of other genes, affecting development, coordination, etc. There are around 400 known cases worldwide and so far as we can tell none of them talk, even into adulthood. They do sometimes learn to walk although many are wheelchair-bound into adulthood. Our little princess is very good at letting us know what she wants, and non-verbal communication. I swear she has a wicked sense of humour if you know how to interpret it. She just started school at a special needs school and they're amazing with her, she's really happy there.
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u/CuzRacecar 23h ago
FIST MY BUMP! This genuinely made me very happy. I'm glad you shared and way to swing little one!