CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLISH
A Personal Note from the Founder:
Navigating the world of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) for my daughter, Quinn, often felt like stepping back in time. The existing solutions struck me as surprisingly outdated, failing to leverage the technological advancements I knew could significantly impact children with cognitive delays like Quinn. I saw firsthand how these archaic approaches weren't truly engaging her or empowering her communication partners effectively. It was this frustration, this sense that Quinn deserved so much more than what was currently available, that ignited a personal mission. As a mobile app developer (15+years) and, more importantly, as Quinn's mom (6+years), I knew I could build something better, something that truly understood her unique needs. QVoice isn't just an incremental improvement; it's a deliberate leap forward, incorporating features I knew would be game-changers for Quinn – like the dynamic visual support of GIFs, the essential inclusivity of web-based accessibility for her entire team, and the long-overdue focus on tools that empower everyone involved in her communication journey. This app is born from a conviction that our kids deserve cutting-edge solutions, not yesterday's technology.
Our Core Mission
Our mission is to provide a quick, effective, and engaging voice for individuals with cognitive challenges. Born from a parent's journey, QVoice is thoughtfully designed to reduce the user's cognitive load while empowering the entire communication team—parents, SLPs, and educators—with smart, supportive tools.
Our Guiding Principles
This mission is guided by three key principles:
Prioritize the User's Success: We focus on making communication as intuitive and successful as possible. Every feature, from the layout to the AI engine, is designed to lower the barrier to expression and build the user's confidence.
Empower the Communication Partner: We believe that successful AAC implementation is a team effort. We are committed to creating powerful, easy-to-use tools that help parents and providers teach, model, and generalize language in a way that is both effective and efficient.
Build with Purpose: Every feature in QVoice is connected to a real-world need. We are dedicated to using technology thoughtfully to solve genuine problems, ensuring the app remains practical, focused, and free of unnecessary complexity.
How is QVoice different?
![]() | We use animations such as GIFs, folder transitions, or hinting.¹
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![]() | You should not have to be tech-savvy in order to program an AAC system.
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![]() | We have real-time synchronization across web, mobile, iOS, and Android platforms
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![]() ![]() | We take full advantage of system resources to keep our costs low.
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![]() | Every feature is tied to real-life examples (we can name who each feature/widget was built for)
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![]() | We believe in equal access, despite cognitive delays.
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![]() | We have automatic data collection to provide accurate usage insights.
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![]() | We learned from all the conferences how important personalizations are!!! This helps increase ownership. So we built QVoice to be everyone's voice (T's voice, M's voice, etc). We want the device to show off each QVoicer's style and personality. As soon as you see the device on the table, you'll know who it belongs to.![]() |
FUTURE ideas: 7/27/25 Right now, we are focused on root form of words, not conjugations and pluralizations [yet]. Keeping the core user—someone like Quinn who needs quick and effective communication—at the center of every design decision is the most important thing. We are designing for clarity and success in the moment, not for linguistic perfection.³ | |
FUTURE ideas: 7/27/25 Multilingual support³ | |
FUTURE ideas: 7/27/25 Smart Buttons - It means that for the initial implementation, a simple verb conjugation (like "I" + "be" -> "am") or noun pluralization is a huge win. The more complex predictions (like "my" vs. "myself") can absolutely be a lower priority or even deemed unnecessary if they add clutter or complexity that doesn't serve the primary goal. Your approach ensures that QVoice will excel at its primary mission: providing a powerful, intuitive voice for users who need it most, without getting bogged down in features that might be more suited for a different user profile. It's a perfect example of designing with empathy and a clear purpose. |
Read more about Grid Layouts and why are they important to understand the distinct architectural approach we took in building QVoice, setting it apart from other AAC solutions.
QVoice is a continuous work in progress. As we learn more, we change. When we know better, we do better. We have so many ideas and initiatives. Please consider signing up for QVoice. Join our community and help us improve QVoice for the masses.
References for Further Reading:
- Liang, Xiaoning (2024) Back to the Basics: What icons do our brains prefer?
- Laubscher, Emily (2024) You Just Want to Be Able to Communicate With Your Child”: Parents' Perspectives on Communication and AAC Use for Beginning Communicators on the Autism Spectrum Authors
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