A method and apparatus for processing a set of communicated signals associated with a set of muscles, such as the muscles near the larynx of the person, or any other muscles the person use to achieve a desired response. The method may include attaching a sensor near an area of a user's body associated with speech production, detecting an electrical signal from the user's nervous system through the sensor, and processing the detected electrical signal to provide communication capability for the user. The processing may include extracting a set of features of the detected electrical signal. The extracted set of features may be compared with a set of prototype features. The set of prototype features may correspond to at least one of multiple response classes. The multiple response classes may include an affirmative response class and a negative response class.