Vidyasagar, started in 1985, is today known for its holistic development of children and adults with special needs. They work with children and young adults with cerebral palsy and other neurological disabilities (no matter how profoundly affected). In 2005 Vidyasagar received the National Award for the welfare of Persons with Disabilities” in recognition of its contribution in this field.

Vidyasagar has been conducting regular Avaz sessions for some of their children with cerebral palsy. These children have now started using Avaz in their classrooms too.

We have been working very closely with Vidyasagar over the past 4 years right from the inception stages. Vidyasagar has partnered with Invention Labs in the design and co-development of Avaz. We have gained rich insights by working closely with their children and staff, (through field tests and pilot studies of the various versions of Avaz), which has helped Avaz in evolving to what it is today.

Ms.Rajul Padmanabhan (Director) / Ms. Kalpana Rao (Principal)

+91 44 2235 4784/85

The Spastics Society of Karnataka, started in 1982,  is dedicated to the welfare of persons with Neuro-Muscular and Developmental Disabilities.  The organization provides diagnostic and intervention services to persons with Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Mental Retardation, Multiple Disabilities and Learning Disabilities.  Today they are serving 1300 children annually through their various affiliated centres and sub-centres.

SSK has used Avaz with the CP children both in text and picture mode. They have used Avaz in classrooms for participating in classroom discussions, answering questions, discussing ideas for school events, and holding conversations with friends, teachers and visitors.

SSK has contributed greatly, through their earnest involvement in the pilot studies of Avaz. We have greatly benefited through our regular interactions with them, by gaining a much deeper understanding of the needs of community. Their practicality and far-sightedness have helped us plan towards developing sustainable models for school level deployment. Feedback from their staff and children, have helped us enormously in gaining insights into the user’s needs and thereby helped us in fine-tuning the product.

Ms.Priya Rao

+91 80 4074 5900

Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP), recognized nationally and internationally as a specialist centre providing technical services and training programmes, with a national network of affiliate groups serving the needs of people with cerebral palsy.  IICP has 36 years of experience in service delivery, research and training. IICP has focused on inclusion using assistive technologies to empower access, education, communication, vocational training and leisure skills.

IICP conducted a 4 month scientific Evaluation of AVAZ used with participants with complex communication needs. It was an extensive study conducted on 15 children  from 3 schools (including inclusion schools). They provided us with recommendations for modifications for Avaz, based on detailed feedback from their users.Their findings concluded that AVAZ is a device effective for participants with complex communication needs to:

• Participate actively and effectively in the classroom by answering questions independently.
• Express their creative ideas through compositional work.
• Communicate effectively in social interactions with familiar people and strangers.

Their feedback of Avaz has given us a lot of encouragement and also helped us in refining the product.

Ms. Swati Chakraborthy

+91 33 2401 3488 / 2401 0240