Innovation fueled by compassion

Grade 9 student’s app Second Voice begins patient trial at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children

Grade 9 student John Perry, an accomplished software developer, has launched a groundbreaking communication app tailored for nonverbal children, aptly named Second Voice.

The idea for the app came about from a personal connection John made while at his former elementary school. “In Grade 4 or 5, I made a friend named Fox, a nonverbal child using a communication app. However, the existing voice applications could not mimic human inflections, making for a monotone communication experience for Fox,” he explains.

This ignited a spark in John to create an app that has the potential to revolutionize the way nonverbal children communicate. The first step he took was to crowdsource voices.

“If you think about the way that we speak, particularly in English, there’s a line my mum loves to use ‘we set our own rules and then we break them so many times over.’ In English there are many exceptions, and then exceptions to those exceptions, and so on. And so, it’s really hard to mimic inflections in communication, but especially when it comes to a very openended language like English,’ he says. John added the voices he collected into the first version of the application he developed, giving early access to his friend Fox, who loved it.

Though he never lost interest in taking the app further, it wasn’t until a couple of years later that John was spurred into action. He learned there was a new app being used by hospitals that provided voices for nonverbal children but was charging licensing fees. The fees being paid by the hospitals were then passed along to individual patients.

“I understand that a lot of companies are for-profit companies, but I don’t think the voice of an individual is something that should be monetized,” says John. “And I didn’t want a situation of ‘oh sorry, George, expenses are tight right now, I guess you just don’t have your voice for a month.’ Charging for access to this software just did not sit right with me.”

And so began the journey to develop Second Voice, which was as much a test of John’s perseverance as it was skill. He faced many technical challenges, including the bankruptcy of a crucial audio library provider. Undeterred, John rebuilt the app from scratch over and over, even changing the programming language three times. His dedication eventually paid off he was accepted into the Apple Developer Program where he received special access to its tools for developers and all of Apple’s frameworks. He remade the app one more time using Swift, Apple’s native programming language for iOS, iPad OS, Mac OS, and most recently Vision OS.

“I cannot speak about exactly what I have access to as part of the program my parents and I had to cosign a nondisclosure agreement as part of entering the program – but I have access to certain features that are not public yet that help in accelerating development,” he explains.

One of the key differentiators for Second Voice lies in its commitment to user privacy. Unlike other applications, Second Voice processes all audio and communication on the device itself, ensuring no sensitive data leaves the user’s device. This not only enhances the safety and security of user data but also addresses concerns related to data plans and device preferences, particularly for families.

John’s commitment to accessibility means his app can accommodate users with dexterity issues and reading comprehension challenges. John has fine-tuned the app’s user interface based on real-world feedback to provide a seamless experience for all users.

“Throughout the lifespan of this application in the Swift version alone, the buttons have gone through probably 100 different shapes and sizes,” he says, adding that continuous testing and refinement, such as adjusting the shape and opacity, ultimately contributes to a superior end product. John’s parents, Amber and Paul, were thrilled to help support him in this venture and provided two of the voice options in the app.

It was also important to John for the app to function on a diverse range of devices. He has added to the capability of the app to detect the user device (iPhone or iPad) which automatically adjusts its presentation. Making the app accessible to users with varying financial considerations was also key, as many families are not in a financial position to be able to spend $1,000 on a device.

“Right now, we have gotten this down to the iPhone XR. The only reason we can’t get it lower is because iOS 17, which this application relies on just to function, has the limitation that it is not supported by Apple on devices older than iPhone XR.”

The app’s potential impact caught the attention of the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. In December, John made his pitch to a panel at SickKids to explore the possibility of conducting a small patient trial. In late December, John received word that SickKids did indeed want to proceed with a trial, with the first round commencing in January 2024. This invaluable feedback will allow him to refine his app further, as he reflects on where Second Voice’s path leads from here.

“I am excited to further work with the team at SickKids in the future,” he says.