Kids Health

World Disability Day 2019: Six apps for special needs kids to communicate

International Day of Disabled Persons 2019: These apps, available on Android, can help special needs kids with developmental delays and speech difficulties to learn communication skills through fun and interactive ways.

International Day of Disabled Persons 2019: Special needs children, like those in the autism spectrum, have speech difficulties in their early years although studies have shown they eventually begin to acquire language and communication skills as they grow older. And technology is here to aid you through the process of teaching your child in case he or she has some speech difficulty.

Here are some speech and communication applications available on Android for special needs kids:

Avaz App for Communication

The app was developed in collaboration with Vidya Sagar, a disability services and support organisation in Chennai, and schools, to help kids with speech difficulties. It uses pictures, symbols and voice synthesis to help users develop speech skills, high-contrast mode for users who are visually impaired and arrow keys for those who have difficulty in motor control. It is available in six regional languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Kannada.

Talk With Me

The app aims to help autistic kids learn social interaction skills. A symbol-based collaborative learning tool, it allows kids to share the app with other people and have social conversations with them. This app can be personalised as per the child’s needs.

Jellow AAC Communicator

This is an Augmentative and Alernative Communication (AAC) system which uses colourful icons and images to facilitate speech. Early learners can use this app to learn words frequently used in their day-to-day activities by associating pictures with corresponding word labels. Kids can also learn to generate new sentences and use the app to speak them out loud.

JABtalk

This AAC app is designed to help non-verbal children improve communication skills. Special needs kids learn to make words and sentences by combining personalised voice and images with a simple user interface.

Voice4u

This AAC app uses fun images to help kids express their feelings, actions and needs. It has a large bank of icons consisting of pictures with corresponding words with easy-to-listen audios.

Talk Up! Communicator

The app is also designed for non-verbal children in the Autism spectrum, Aphasia, Apraxia, speech disorders, cerebral palsy and Down’s Syndrome. It helps improve communication skills through pictograms which kids can select to express different actions and sentences.


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