Vidya Sagar to expand non-verbal communication device for children with disabilities

Vidya Sagar, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works with the disabled community, plans to expand augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to help non-verbal children with disabilities communicate better.

The NGO was instrumental in bringing out Avaz, an AAC device that helps non-verbal children with disabilities to communicate through pictures and text. Recently, Avaz Inc. joined global AAC company PRC-Saltillo.

Speaking at an event organised in Chennai on Monday, Poonam Natarajan, founder of Vidya Sagar, said: “Sign language has become so well known today but AAC is not, and we want to get it there. We want to make sure that we train teachers to use AAC better in classrooms.”

Ajit Narayanan, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Invention Labs and inventor of Avaz AAC, said: “The device put India on the radar of the AAC world. One of the things with Avaz is that it’s pure good with no dark side.”

Narayanan Ramakrishnan, CEO, Avaz Inc., said Avaz was built from a user-centric standpoint. “Avaz evolved around the user organically, and that was how it was able to create a niche,” he added.

With a funding support of ₹35 lakh, Kalpana Rao, deputy director, Vidya Sagar, said they hoped to train more parents and teachers in AAC strategies and devices, and facilitate an ACC users forum to take communication forward, among other things. “Having a conversation using AAC is still a dream. It’s a special day because our journey with AAC is entering another level,” she added.