Having a child or a sibling or a parent or a friend or a colleague with special needs can make a big difference in our lives. The difference we are impacted with is a good difference when we find value in it.
In the many years of having been in this field of special needs I have seen many families deal with the situation differently. Within each family too there have been different reactions from different family members to the one with special needs.
It is amazing and heartening when a 15 year old sibling of a child with special needs uses her academic skills to create apps for her younger sister, to make her life better and the world more accessible for her! I have the privilege of knowing this teenager, who inspite of being in grade 10, finds the time out from her hectic academic schedule to think of her sister. She wants the world for her sister, Ananya(name changed to respect the child’s privacy), who at the age of 10years is non-verbal and has limited control of her gross and fine movement. Ananya loves music and is always very eager to listen to stories and rhymes. And how do we know that? Well! You pick up a book and start reading, and Ananya will come to you with bright twinkling eyes and pat you on your arm to indicate to you just how excited she is to be read to! Put on music for her and she will hold the device close to her ears to listen to one song after the other.
Seeing how much Ananya enjoys listening to music, her family got ‘Alexa’ for her. Someone needed to give the voice command for her to get a variety of songs to listen to. Ananya was thrilled! However, Anaya’s 15 year old sister, Avani, realised that she needed someone to activate Alexa with a voice control to make it possible for Ananya to listen to her favourite songs uninterrupted. This got Avani(name changed) thinking. Many individuals with special needs, like Ananya, and patients after a stroke or those with partial paralysis or individuals with speech issues, always would need someone with clear speech to command Alexa. This now got Avani creating. Wasn’t it possible for her to do something for her sister and all the others who could then listen to Alexa without seeking help from someone else?
With much love for her sister and much excitement to create something of use to many, Avani started thinking of what she could do to make Alexa accessible for those with speech issues. And with her efforts was born ‘ BeMyVoice’- my voice at my fingertips!
Here are some more details of the app:
BeMyVoice- My Voice at My Fingertips
With this app you can control your Google Home and Amazon Alexa Virtual Helpers with just a tap!
The idea behind this app is that inclusion is possible when you reduce dependency. Voice Assistants are the technology of the future and are activated by verbal commands. Choosing to benefit from digital technology, the Be My Voice app empowers the voiceless by enabling them to live a more independent life.
This app can also be used by young toddlers who can’t form meaningful sentences yet to interact with voice assistants at home.
Be My Voice is a completely offline app and doesn’t require internet connection.
It provides access to Google Home, Amazon Alexa and even satisfies the need to just express your own wish with the plain text (My Voice) option.
Simply save your frequently used commands, place your phone next to the assistant and tap on the command you wish to give.
Here is the link to the introduction video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTe2MUaUbXk
Please watch this video and like it in case you genuinely appreciate the efforts.
Here is the download link.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vanshikamittal.bemyvoice
It is the pride and joy of Samatha learning center to have Ananya as our student. It is our happiness to encourage Avani (name changed) to use her learning and her intelligence to create more and more to support the world of special needs. With this app ‘BeMyVoice’, Avani made the world a little inclusive.
Share this app ‘BeMyVoice’ far and wide so that more individuals benefit from this app. And we wish Avani much success, as she continues to make this world a better place, putting a creative spin to her intelligence to come up with more brilliant apps!
