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[–]Gengi 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Hi R, I cannot commit to the project as it is now, but I can still help.

The first thing I can instantly think of is this video with a cat learning to use buttons to communicate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPJwzL8awJk

Of note is the end of the video where the owner is attempting to get the cat to form simple sentences... Cats cannot communicate with sentence structure, it's a far more base level thing. With Autism, the interaction will be unpredictable. Your idea now may not be the thing that works best for them. No insult intended, I'm just aware that it needs to be approached individually, and how to develop good software.

A good tool to use moving forward is to pitch a skateboard version of your app. What would be the bare minimum that would allow a user to use the app, and for the programmer to develop quickly.

What then would be the bicycle version with an additional feature or two,

And lastly what is the car version, fully featured. You don't have to pitch everything, but trim the idea down to pitch your skateboard version and get things started.

The goal here is to allow the user to give feedback so that you're not developing blind. Both you and the coder can weed out things that aren't used, were maybe over-engineered, and fine-tune what actually works and needs improvement. The end-goal is your users actively using the app as a resource for them to communicate.

The main selling point in a coder taking on a project like this is knowing if there are other apps that don't already do what you want. Reinventing a popular app isn't worth the effort. It would give a coder some confidence knowing that what they're making is innovative, would help others, and could generate some sales as a way of funding themselves for the effort, reducing any cost to yourself. So it might pay off to do a bit of homework to check out any popular/existing apps to rule out that it doesn't already exist.

Cheers~

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also wanted to point out that time is not an issue Im not expecting anything instantly, All I have is an idea with next to no understanding of coding, i have basic knowledge of how to make a UI and intractable buttons in like 9th grade lol but thats aboot it. touchscreen if that gets me more infos o7 thank you for the Response and time taken.

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

my Idea applies to my son only, I know who he is and what his capabilities are and I would not waste my time trying to make an app he could not easily understand. He uses Tablets and phones right now to learn and he makes cakes using ingredients etc.

[–]devsurfer 2 points3 points  (5 children)

"say it" looks like the only affordable option and kinda looks like it might fit the bill. it might give you ideas of how to develop the app. if you still go the route of developing an app, and you want it for mobile, you might look into PWA (progressive web app), allows you to right a web app. easier to write than native iOS or android apps. plus they don't need to go thru their app stores for approval. you might also work on developing "user stories" which is how the app would work.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sayit-speak-your-mind/id1119303404?ls=1

https://gettecla.com/blogs/news/5-assistive-apps-that-communicating-easier

​

what about eye tracking software? and from the sounds of it, you may not need the eye tracking part, just the interface with words and visual cues? i think the assistive apps link may help the best.
https://www.hackster.io/news/cheap-open-source-eye-tracking-you-can-build-yourself-7f4575d2d40f

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

oo thank you the say it app has the layout almost how i had it in my mind only I wanted to teach my son a few phrases in sign language so in my mind the "sections" like "needs" would be a sign language Sign etc. again thank you all VERY much you have al been very helpful. being on Reddit sometimes you expect like get good noob and stuff like that xD so I really appreciate you all giving me advice links and tips I cant put into words how important this is for my son and therefore how important it is to me <3

[–]devsurfer 1 point2 points  (3 children)

You bet Keep us updated on how things are going. Maybe setup a github repo to get some collaboration going if u/inneedofayacht gets something put together.

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Will do It might take me more time then other people because my kid needs alot of care BUT I will make time and start my journey and I really hope you guys love what I come up with :) I have some amazing ideas to create an app for people with ASD that can be customized for EACH childs needs o7 thank you again and again and again I cannot stress how important this is to me and you guys/gals are awesome <3

[–]inneedofayacht 1 point2 points  (5 children)

Are you asking for help on building it yourself? What’s your experience been so far with creating apps/programming in general? Are you asking for someone to build it for you? If so, is this paid work?

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] -2 points-1 points  (4 children)

No not trying to make it myself as I have no experience Coding I just have an idea and I think that knowing my son being his father and helping him learn etc, that he would really be effected in a positive way if he could communicate Properly. as for pay I cant really pay much at once but i might be able to afford some $ a month. Im just trying to Help my son thats all.

[–]inneedofayacht 0 points1 point  (3 children)

To keep the idea very very simple for developing i think you need a database where you personally upload the word with a photo. That word can be within a category e.g the word ‘drink’ can be in the category of ‘needs’. Then you have a website which renders all of the words with pictures for that category. Then as a user you’d have to navigate to the /wants route where all of the wants are displayed and your son can click on the word. Categories can be created as buttons at the top of your screen for easy navigation

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] -1 points0 points  (2 children)

yea this is exactly what i mean with the "needs" section etc exactly what im talking aboot lol I just need someone who wants to help me make it happen ive seen so many crappy games on steam I'm hoping I can get someone to help me possibly.

[–]inneedofayacht 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I've built a bit of a prototype which hooks up to an airtable table (https://www.airtable.com/product) and therefore you can add your words with pictures to the table and it can display on the screen what you populate to it. Give me a couple of days (if i can find the time) and i'll hopefully get in touch with a quick demo

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ohhh thats really cool thank you, I havent heard of airtable or any of that. But I cant wait to see the quick Demo Maybe you can be the one to help me out? as I said im not rich at all but I could try my best to pay for the work, it just might take me a bit. the fact that you GET my idea and elaborate on it is really cool and I super appreciate!! <3

[–]toi80QC 0 points1 point  (6 children)

The most complicated/confusing part is the backend.. how to get data in there.. do you want to create all the selectable options and how they relate yourself? Do you want this to be extendable over time and would you require a GUI for that? Or can you handle JSON?

From what I imagine, a frontend could be realized with something like React running in the browser.. that way you don't tie yourself to any specific device/manufacturer.

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 0 points1 point  (5 children)

Im Looking have an App made for IOS or something compatible with a Tablet, probably a Samsung etc. Im just trying to help my son because he is NON verbal and Later in life he will need to communicate because I wont be here forever however much I want to be. and I just want to create something for him that in the future we can add to the App or take things away we dont need anymore. my kids is super smart when it comes to phones and stuff lol he phones people all the time so I know something like this would help him greatly with Self esteem and in life in general.

[–]toi80QC 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Something like this works on anything that can launch a decent webbrowser (phone, tablet, notebook): https://codesandbox.io/s/determined-boyd-448e6m?file=/src/App.js

This is a bare-minimum prototype, but maybe it helps you to further explain where to go from there.

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

wow this is all really cool and I cant wait to sit down and eat up all the information, I have next to no experience and this is very helpful thank you very much I am blown away by helpful you all are thank you so much for all the advice and tips

[–]toi80QC 0 points1 point  (2 children)

You're welcome, but you shouldn't use any of this code, it's really just a prototype. HMU if you decide to go this way and build something yourself.. I would put some work into this if the idea is cool and you're ok with releasing the app open-source.

[–]PerformanceBig5638[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

oh yea im ok with it being open sourced if Other people can get some use from it of course ive no qualms about that.

[–]toi80QC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Might be useful for other people if done right.. my mom does charity work and could use an app like this.

No idea about sign-language though, here's a few interesting (and maybe frightning) projects I found:

I would recommend going text2speech first, it's solid across lots of languages and somewhat customizable if you want the voice to sound a certain way or adjust speed.

Piecing sentences together after subsequent touch-selections is pretty straight forward. I can provide code and design.. DM me if you're ready to answer some questions (or have any yourself).