If your child doesn't speak — or speaks very little — you already know they understand far more than they can express. You see it in their eyes when they want something and can't tell you. You see it in the frustration when they're not understood.
An AAC app gives them a way to say it. Not someday. Now. On the iPhone you're holding right now.
The AAC community increasingly uses the term "minimally speaking" rather than "nonverbal" because communication is a spectrum. Your child might say a few words, use some sounds, or communicate through gestures. AAC doesn't replace any of that — it adds to it. Research consistently shows that AAC supports speech development rather than replacing it.
Tala shows your child a screen of picture cards. They tap one — say, a glass of water — and the app speaks the full phrase: "I want water." Tala's cards are whole phrases, not single words, because many autistic children learn language by hearing complete sentences rather than building up from individual words. Speech therapists call this gestalt language processing, and Tala is designed for it.
Tala was built in Stockholm by a dad for his six-year-old son. It's not a corporate product designed by people who've never lived this. It's available in 9 languages — English, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, German, French, Norwegian, and Danish — all native-speaker reviewed. It costs $9.99/month. It's free for speech therapists and teachers. And it runs on the iPhone you already own.