A nonprofit built around one question: what does this person want to say?
Families Inspiring Neurodiverse Development (FIND) is a nonprofit public benefit corporation incorporated in the State of California in September 2024. Our Articles of Incorporation state our specific purpose: to provide information and online assistance to guardians and family members of neurodiverse individuals. IrisSpeak is our principal project.
People who cannot rely on speech face barriers to friendship, learning and health care, and their families often cannot tell what they want or feel. Picture-card communication works, but the tools available to most families are paper binders or expensive, static apps. We believe a good communication tool should be free, private, and easy for a parent or teacher to use from the first day.
- Nonprofit. Organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes; no part of our assets benefits any director, officer, member or private person.
- Free, no advertising, no data sales. Everything we offer is free to use. We show no ads and never sell or share user data.
- Non-political. We do not attempt to influence legislation or take part in any political campaign.
- Open. Our software models are released under the Apache-2.0 licence and our research is published.
- Volunteer-led. No paid staff; governed by a volunteer board of directors.
Three ways we help.
IrisSpeak, a free communication app
A picture-card (AAC) app for iPad and the web. A parent, teacher or therapist asks a question; IrisSpeak shows the cards the person is most likely to need; the person taps cards and the app speaks a sentence made from them. Free, private (its language models run on the device), and faithful to the words selected.
irisspeak.com → · native iPadOS app in development
Information for families
Plain-language guidance for parents and guardians who are new to AAC: what it is, what the research says, and where to start — with sources they can check.
Open research and open model
IrisSpeak runs on IrisSpeak-135M, a small language model we trained for AAC card prediction. We publish it with open weights under the Apache-2.0 licence, with our evaluation of on-device prediction against cloud AI services, so schools, clinicians and developers can build on it.
What AAC is, and where to start.
If your child or family member has little or no reliable speech, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) gives them another way to be understood. AAC is any way of communicating that supplements or replaces speech: gestures and sign, picture boards and books, or apps and devices that speak the chosen symbols out loud.
“Will AAC stop my child from learning to talk?”
No. A systematic review found that AAC does not hinder speech, and in most cases speech improved or stayed the same (Schlosser & Wendt, 2008).
“My child's behaviour is the real problem.”
Much challenging behaviour is communication with no other outlet. A review of 54 studies found that teaching functional communication, including AAC, reduces challenging behaviour (Walker & Snell, 2013).
“Is my child too young, or not ready?”
There are no prerequisites. Children learn symbols by using them, the way speaking children learn words. Start early and model the system yourself as you talk.
- Ask for an AAC evaluation from a speech-language pathologist; in the US, schools must provide one as part of an IEP if communication is affected.
- Model, don't test. Use the board or app yourself when you talk to your child.
- Make it available everywhere: at the table, in the car, at school.
- Add the words that matter: family names, pets, favourite foods and shows.
- Try before you buy. Free options, including IrisSpeak, let you find out what works first.
Trusted resources: ASHA on AAC · CDC: Autism · ISAAC · Autism Speaks
Sources: Beukelman & Light (2020), Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 5th ed. · CDC ADDM Network (2025) · Tager-Flusberg & Kasari (2013), Autism Research 6(6) · Schlosser & Wendt (2008), AJSLP 17(3) · Walker & Snell (2013), AAC 29(2). General information, not medical advice.
Get in touch.
We are a small volunteer organization and answer every message, usually within a few days.
General and families
Questions about the organization, IrisSpeak, getting started, or AAC in general.
Schools, clinics and researchers
Pilots, evaluations, collaboration, or access to research materials.
Privacy and data requests
Account deletion, data copies, or questions about the privacy policy.