InvoTek of Alma Gets Grant for Speech Generation Tool
by May 11, 2012 2:48 pm 87 views
Alma research and development firm InvoTek has received a federal grant of more than $500,000 for the creation of a speech generation tool for children with disabilities, it announced late last month.
The tool, called PlayTalk, is a collaboration between InvoTek and Penn State University. InvoTek president Tom Jakobs said it gives children with disabilities a “fun and interactive way to learn and practice communication skills.”
“Approximately 675,000 children in the United States have disabilities that slow their speech development and consequently are at high risk in all aspects of development,” Jakobs said in a news release. “PlayTalk is exceptional in that it promotes communication, language and cognitive development by these young children more effectively than other devices on the market today.”
The Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant, from the National Institutes of Health, is for $550,100.