The TippyTalk Story
First, meet Sadie.
TippyTalk began with Sadie, a sweet, non-speaking child. She was diagnosed with autism when she was three years old. Sadie's father, Rob Laffan, was impassioned to find a way for Sadie to communicate quickly and easily.
Using his background in automation and robotics, Rob created TippyTalk for Sadie.
Sadie was soon able to share her wants and needs and even tell her father, "I love you." Seeing the impact TippyTalk had in his personal life, Rob decided to share his solution.
Rob Interviewed dozens of professionals, educators, and parents. Using this research and his experiences with Sadie, he enhanced TippyTalk. He made a cloud-based solution with a reasonable cost that also provides an innovative social networking experience.
TippyTalk was created for Sadie. Now it is available to all those who are non-verbal or speech-impaired. The TippyTalk team is delighted to share TippyTalk with YOU.
The TippyTalk Team
Rob Laffan
Rita Ferrandino
Kevin Custer
Founder, TippyTalk
Kevin Custer
Rita Ferrandino
Kevin Custer
CEO, TippyTalk
Founding Partner, Accessible Tech
Rita Ferrandino
Rita Ferrandino
Rita Ferrandino
Business Growth Advisor, TippyTalk
Founding Partner, Accessible Tech
John Clohessy
Jarrett Volzer
Jarrett Volzer
Program Director, TippyTalk
Jarrett Volzer
Jarrett Volzer
Jarrett Volzer
Product Development Manager, TippyTalk
A Note from TippyTalk's Founder
Hi, I'm Rob...
... and this is my beautiful little girl, Sadie. Thank you for taking the time to read OUR story.
As a nonverbal family we understand that we are not unique, and that there are so many loving families, just like ours, living with verbal disabilities all over the world.
Our community is full of passionate people who are always striving to add value to our loved ones’ lives.
People like you and me understand that all we want is to communicate with our children, understand how they are feeling, what they desire and how we can support them. As parents, we can all relate to the overwhelming need, want, and desire to protect and provide a better quality of life for our children.
However, you and I have a pesky obstacle in our path called “NONVERBAL” which tries to stop us from achieving these goals. It’s this that inspires us constantly to ask these questions:
- How can we help Sadie explain who she is as a person?
- How can we provide a way for Sadie to express her individual likes and dislikes, her own needs, wants, and desires?
- How can we provide a way to remove some of the limitations placed upon her and help change society’s perception of who she is?
This way of thinking led to TippyTalk. I truly believe we must have expectations for our children and provide them with the tools and skills necessary for them to reach their full potential. Without this commitment we are just placing more limitations upon them.
TippyTalk allows Sadie to communicate who she is and when she is sad, happy, frustrated or not feeling well. TippyTalk helps to reduce our frustration while also expanding Sadie’s social network beyond the confines of a room.
I am just a Dad who had an idea, for which we are so thankful. We find it hard to describe in words the value that TippyTalk has added to our family’s lives.
That’s why we hope your family can become part of our TippyTalk community.
Rob Laffan
Founder Rob Laffan created TippyTalk for his daughter, Sadie.
