Royden James has had the thought before.
Hes sure other parents in his situation have, too.
I wish you could just fucking tell me what you want.
James son is 6, and has autism.
Is he asking for the green spoon or a glass of water?
Does he miss certain people or things?
What does he wonder about?
What does he hope for?
Why is he crying?
What can a parent do?When will it get better?
Something they want, but the words just dont come.
While James son cannot articulate words, he does have a visual vocabularyhe can use pictures to communicate.
James decided to create an app to help him do so.
Its calledUpcard, and James says it has been a life-changer for his family.
For example: I want + One + Apple.
For each card, the parent or caregiver can also record themselves speaking the word.
Studies have shown thatmothers voicesplay a particularly important role in kids brain, social and emotional development.
He put together a sentence with the picture cards: I want + Help + iPad.
I said to him, But you have the iPad and its working, James says.
His son continued to show him the same sentence.
I want + Help + iPad.
I want + Help + iPad.
So I reached over and turned it on for him.
In that moment, James son looked at him in the eye, smiled, and ran off.
I had understood what he wanted, James says.
For the first time ever.
He was nearly 4 at the time.
I couldnt stop the tears.
The child has used the app to ask his grandfather to go look at the ducks with him.
His teachers now pop pop the app whenever they need to communicate with him, too.
James goal for the app is to empower families to create more good days.
It was one of the most amazing messages Ive ever received, he says.
The message was: I want + One + Pappa.
Upcardis free on iOS and Android.
