Talkie is a free online board of picture buttons. When your child taps a word, Talkie says it out loud and adds it to a sentence at the top of the screen. They can then speak the whole sentence.

Does my child need an account?

No. Anyone can open the board and start tapping. Sign in with Google only if you want to save your child’s name, a preferred voice, and your own words and folders.

Where do the words come from?

The first screen uses the toddler core words from Banajee, DiCarlo, and Stricklin. The folders use the preschool words from Marvin, Beukelman, and Bilyeu. Licensed speech-language pathologists helped decide how those words are grouped and how sentences are built.

Is Talkie a replacement for speech therapy?

No. Talkie is a practice board you can use at home, at school, or on the go. It does not replace working with your child’s speech-language pathologist.

A parent and young child looking at a tablet together

Talkie.kids

A free text to speech board for children who are learning to communicate

Tap a picture and Talkie says the word out loud using your device's text to speech voice. No account required.

Try it! More info

How it works

Tap a word

Each button is a word with a picture. One tap speaks it and places it in the sentence bar at the top.

Build a sentence

Add more words, then press Speak to hear the whole phrase. Endings such as plural “s” and “-ing” can attach to the last word.

Personalize

Create an account to customize the speaking voice and save your own words, phrases, and folders.

Starting with the words children actually use

The board vocabulary starts with words from two well-known studies, and is built from advisory sessions with licensed children's speech-language pathologists.

Banajee, DiCarlo, and Stricklin

Toddler core words, 2003

This study looked specifically at toddlers (24 to 36 months). They tracked the unprompted, natural speech of 50 toddlers across different childcare centers during two distinct daily routines: free play and snack time. It identified a core of 23 words that accounted for 96% of all the words used by the children during their preschool routines.

Marvin, Beukelman, and Bilyeu

Preschool words children use most

This study is a foundational piece of research in the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Titled "Vocabulary-use patterns in preschool children: Effects of context and time sampling," this study analyzed the natural, expressive language of typically developing preschoolers at home and at school.

Its findings heavily shaped how modern AAC communication boards and high-tech devices are programmed.

Start with the words already on the board

Open Talkie and tap a word. Personalize it to make it your own.

Open the board