Mother of austistic child develops ‘universal language’ app

HELP IS AT HAND: Spitz says the "Talk Different" app's picture book simplicity is an intentional contrast to the more complex and confounding tools she used in communicating with her daughter.

PARIS: The French mother of an autistic child has created what is believed to be the world’s first smartphone application allowing people speaking different languages – or those incapable of speech at all – to communicate together, French company Sogeti said. 

Marie Spitz developed the Talk Different app that uses 700 images, colours, icons and sounds to create messages based on alternative communication techniques she practised to interact with her daughter Pauline, whose autism severely limits her speech capacity.