YPSILANTI — One local mother has created an app to help her autistic son communicate more effectively. Nabeela Jaffer’s son, Salman, 16, has experienced difficulty communicating verbally throughout his life. He was diagnosed with autism at age four. 

The struggles he faced trying to communicate is what inspired Jaffer to create the ‘My Words’ app. The first version was released in 2010, and the app has been updated several times since then. 

Jaffer says she’s noticed a positive change in Salman since he started using the app. 

“His level of frustration has come down a lot. Before he was trying to say something and couldn’t,” Jaffer said. 

	The ‘My Words’ app is affordable and can be downloaded on iTunes for only $9.99. Apps that are similar to it can cost up to hundreds of dollars and only work for certain children, because not all individuals find the same devices effective.

Over the years Salman had tried various types of augmentative and assistive technology devices to communicate, but often found them hard to use because they were bulky and heavy to carry. 

He enjoyed using sign language and gestures to communicate with others, but very few people could understand his gestures and sign language.

Jaffer says that she wanted to create an application that would speak for him and could be customized easily. At the same time, he had started showing an interest in using his iPod. 

Today, the app is helping more than just autistic and speech impaired people, it’s being used as a language learning tool. Jaffer has received a lot of positive feedback about the app from mothers who are using it to teach their children other languages, including Chinese and Arabic.  

The ‘My Words’ app allows its users to create a multi-sensory dictionary. With the app, you can type in a word, take a photo of something representative of it, record your voice saying the word, or a phrase, and place it in a category.  

For example, if an autistic, or speech impaired individual uses a particular object frequently, a caregiver can help them communicate their need for it through the app by simply typing in the object’s name, taking a photo of the object, record their voice pronouncing the name of it,  and then storing it in a category on the app. When the individual needs to use it, they can simply tap the photo, and the recording will come up. 

Jaffer says Salman has a greeting section and was able to go under it and wish his cousin a happy birthday, with a recording. The caregivers can configure the app according to the needs and vocabulary of their special ones. 

His family members have recorded hundreds of words and phrases for him.  He often repeatedly listens to a word until he can say it. 

What distinguishes it from apps that are similar to it is that the set of words and phrases on the app can actually be shared publically, for teachers or others to access, making it simple for the individual to communicate anywhere. 

Jaffer says that even Salman’s teachers have managed to upload the list of words from his app, by simply creating an account on the ‘My Words’ app website and accessing the list. This makes it easier for Salman, who attends an Ann Arbor Public School, to communicate with his teachers. 

The ‘My Words’ app is affordable and can be downloaded on iTunes for only $9.99. Apps that are similar to it can cost up to hundreds of dollars and only work for certain children, because not all individuals find the same devices effective. 

Jaffer says that at one point, Salman’s school had a device that was being used to help students communicate better and it costs $300, but he didn’t find it effective.

“This is all about helping people, and that’s what it’s doing,” Jaffer said.