Apps that are giving a voice to autistic kids

Making a difference
Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when he was three years old, Sivaa Menon could only say a few basic words like ‘toilet’ by the time he turned 10. This frustrated him so much that he started having meltdowns. Traditional therapies didn’t work. But six months ago, his mother Preetha found Avaz, an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app, which has now given the 11-year-old a voice. He has now learnt to say 10 words.

Such apps support or replace natural speech in children with autism, and other developmental disorders, with the use of images, icons and symbols, stored category-wise in folders, as visual cues. These are early intervention apps and their content can be customised to individual needs.