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Ordering a cup of coffee; picking up the phone and ordering a pizza; or telling a taxi where to take you should be easy. These tasks shouldn’t lead to frustration and anxiety. Or what about reciting a poem, singing out loud, or telling a joke? How much fun are these activities and, what would it be like if we couldn’t do them?

It’s a question not many ask. Some of us lose our voice every once in a while, or we move to a new country and have trouble communicating. We may know the limitations of speech to a certain extent. But unfortunately, too many people don’t understand the basic need to communicate. For them, asking for directions in a clear and concise way is something they take for granted.

They seem to think that those who suffer from speech disabilities are few and far between. Perhaps they know a relative with Autism who has invented their own language or have had a loved one after a stroke unable to utter understandable sentences. But unfortunately, millions are living this reality on a daily basis.

Many of those who suffer from motor, cognitive or speech disabilities currently have help on the market. They use either communication boards; eye tracking or head tracking devices. All of these solutions help to an extent. However, these solutions don’t encourage them to speak. A person is left to be silent and depend on their caregiver to communicate. How can they improve? There is no incentive to speak.

These devices are also problematic because they are clunky and obtrusive. They stigmatize the user because they are devices that no one else except for those who have disabilities use. The user is still in a box with the label ‘not integrated yet’.

Talkitt is a solution that changes all of this. Talkitt is trying to fill a huge gap and finally enable a person with a speech impairment to speak and be understood using their voice. The solution is based on innovative technology, which is able to recognize unintelligible language and translate it into understandable speech.

Talkitt works on any mobile or wearable device (smartphones, tablets, etc) so that people would be able to communicate without awkward devices, whether they’re at home with loved ones or out getting a latte.

Usually there is a parent, spouse or caregiver who understands what the person is saying. But out in the real world, that person is alone. How do they integrate into society?

It’s a question that so many kept asking. When professionals brought it to our attention that this was a huge need and could be a life changer, we knew we had to develop a way for those who have speech impairments to have their own personal translator. Our vision is to have our technology be smarter than the person who has been by their side and understands every word they say. It’s wonderful and unbelievably rewarding to be able to change someone’s life like that.

We can’t wait to bring Talkitt to those who need it. Our crowd-funding campaign igg.me/at/talkitt will help fund our release. Everyone’s support and push to get the word out is very much appreciated.

Bio: Jessica Eisenberg is the Marketing Manager at Voiceitt the creators of Talkitt.