Why I made this
I built DinoTalk for my nephew.
He's non-speaking. He knows exactly what he wants. He just hasn't had a way to tell us. We spent a long time guessing, getting it wrong, and watching him slowly stop bothering to ask.
So I made him a dinosaur and a handful of cards, and a way to point at the thing he actually meant. The first time he chose something and we got it right, he grinned like he'd won.
That's the whole product. I hoped it might help him find some words along the way. Mostly I just wanted him to be understood.
What DinoTalk is
A soft dinosaur, five picture cards, and a fold-out mat with two pockets. Your child places Dino on the card they want and presses his tummy, and he says the word out loud. You both hear the same word.
No screens. No app. No setup. It charges with a USB-C cable.
What DinoTalk isn't
It isn't a medical device, a therapy programme, or a replacement for AAC. Families use it alongside the communication tools they already have. It's something a child can reach for on the floor, in the car, at the table, without getting a tablet out.
We're not going to tell you it will make your child talk. We don't know that, and neither does anyone selling you something that promises it. What it does is give a child a way to choose, and give you a way to know what they chose.
Who it's for
Children who aren't speaking. Speech delay, apraxia, autism. Whatever the reason, and whatever else you're already using.
Children who aren't speaking yet. Toddlers in the stretch between pointing and talking, when they know exactly what they want and have no way to say it.
Marked for 12 months and up, but older children use it too. The cards don't require reading, and choosing between two things is useful at any age.