Sydspeak, Inc. Readies Release of iPad Application to help Parents, Therapists Teach Children to Speak

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. --- Sydspeak, Inc. based in Winter Springs will release its Talk to Me 100® iPad application this summer to help parents, teachers and therapists help young children master language skills.

Veteran speech and language pathologist Sydney Birr, MA, CCC, president of Sydspeak, Inc., said Talk to Me 100 is an engaging interactive communications tool designed for children who are learning to talk or who have difficulty mastering verbal expression. This iPad app is a digital replica and companion to the original “child friendly” Talk To Me 100® available at www.sydspeak.com.

“Talk to Me 100 provides graphics, text and sound that allows children to see words, hear words, understand their meaning and experience the joy of communication by pressing buttons, Birr said.

"Many children struggle with developing a large core vocabulary," Birr explained. "Talk to Me 100 follows the child's lead and meets them at the point of readiness to learn," she said.

Birr said the Talk to Me 100 focuses on 100 important words with corresponding graphic symbols that express the meaning of each word. A recorded voice demonstrates proper pronunciation.

Recently Birr was invited to address the annual convention of the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists in Marco Island, Fla. Her presentation outlined strategies and results achieved using the same 100 words in daily conversation with over 50 students nationwide during the 2010-2011 school year.

“Talk to Me 100 was designed to help parents, teachers and therapists jumpstart verbal expression for children who are struggling to communicate,” Birr said.

Birr, who earned her M.A. Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Houston, has more than 35 years of experience as a speech and language pathologist. She developed Talk to Me 100 with her son, Andrew, who serves as vice president of Sydspeak.

Sydspeak, Inc. is a member of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation program in Winter Springs.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 160 emerging companies (including more than 100 current clients) create over $800 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With nine facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, City of St. Cloud, Volusia County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.