The MyWordz® with MySpeekie® app, funded by Innovate UK, will be submitted to the App Store next week. I am proud to say: We did it! Together with the tech team, we have accomplished something groundbreaking.

The goal of the 'I Can Speak Without You!' project was to develop a Communication App for Nonspeaking Children Who Cannot Yet Read and Spell, within the field of emerging technology.

We set out to create something unprecedented: a tool that enables children with no knowledge of 'letters and sounds' to type words using Phonemies. The app then generates the written form of those words, which can be voiced using integrated technology.
 

To enhance the experience, we even cloned my voice to produce naturally blended phonemes (speech sounds), ensuring the output is authentic and easy to understand.
 

Why Was I Selected?

"The applicant is strongly committed to being an inspiring role model, with clear reasons and a strong interest in role modelling during the project. They are enthusiastic about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and understand its impact on their role as an innovator and on the success of the project. The information provided strongly supports their application."

The Value Proposition

"The value proposition underpinning the project is very clear and targeted. The technology has a high potential to support positive, disruptive change for its end users."

A New Era of Learning

This is just an overview. A short, powerful clip will follow once the app is available on the App Store and Google Play. The app will cost £134.99 and include a free 'Phonemies' screen—an invaluable tool for SALTs (Speech and Language Therapists). This feature will enable them to toggle between IPA phonetic symbols and the Speech Sound Monsters®, helping children learn Monster Sounds on any device.

We’re also introducing a subscription model at a lower rate, allowing for multiple licenses. Schools and organisations supporting children who are nonspeaking, learning English, or connecting 'letters and sounds' in personalised ways will benefit immensely. This approach supports phonemic awareness, provides early intervention for dyslexia, and serves as an immunisation against illiteracy.

NextGen learners will appreciate exploring how spoken and written words connect, fostering increasing independence. Whether deciding what they want for dinner or choosing what they’d like for Christmas, these are their words—MyWordz®!

Institutions will also be able to download the app onto hundreds of iPads or Android tablets for just a few pounds or dollars per year.

Additional Tools and Resources

In tandem with the app, the Word Mapping Mastery book will be released, demonstrating how to use this revolutionary technology with children from birth. The book will also showcase strategies to facilitate easier reading and spelling for all learners in our neurodiverse world, where children thrive when they learn in their own way—often moving and engaging rather than sitting passively in chairs.

This app sends a clear message: Personalised learning and celebrating differences are the future of education! This tech is unique because I refused to conform to doing things 'the way they’ve always been done.'

Our goal is not only to help nonspeaking children communicate in their way—whether they choose to remain voiceless (as I did at age 4 when away from home) or face challenges in producing voiced sounds—but to create solutions that embrace each child as an individual.

Expanding Our Impact

Recently, I released the Monster Spelling® Piano app for iPads, supporting the learning of 'letters and sounds'—including 'sight words'—in innovative ways. Next month, the Code Mapping® Tool will launch, revolutionising word mapping by showing children the grapheme segmentation in every word.

Publishers will soon be able to license our Code Mapping® system for dyslexic learners, and we are developing a clickable library. This feature will allow any book to be imported, providing children with instant reading support as they progress. This includes the beloved Village with Three Corners series. By the time they reach book 150, children will be reading independently!

Our technology also aims to support functionally illiterate adults. Adults will be able to import texts that interest them—whether it’s a car repair manual, a travel guide, or a football book—placing their learning focus on what they want to read. This approach flips the existing model on its head, moving away from 'decodable texts' restricted by limited grapheme-phoneme correspondences and focusing instead on meaningful, engaging material.

Those who struggle to read and spell face enormous challenges, from navigating life’s practicalities to critically engaging with health or political information. The inability to separate fact from fiction in today’s media-saturated world leaves many vulnerable to manipulation. Our work directly addresses these social challenges.

A Personal Note

Thank you to Innovate UK for funding this project, and to my friends and family for supporting me through the tougher moments of this journey. I lost my mum this year, and I know she would be so proud to see this work transition from a dream of empowering children into a reality. Her extraordinary ability to make young children feel valued and understood is why she will always be my greatest role model. I miss her every day.

Emma Hartnell-Baker MEd SEN
'Miss Emma'

​Developer of 'Word Mapping Mastery'
Director, The Reading Hut Ltd