Malachi Speaks

Malachi Speaks gives a voice to people who don't use speech.

Tap a picture to say a word. Chain pictures into a sentence and speak it all at once. Or type on a keyboard that speaks. Three ways in, so the app fits the person rather than the other way round — and keeps fitting as they grow.

It is completely free. No subscription, no paid tier, no ads, and no account to create. Nothing you set up leaves the device.

WHY THIS EXISTS

I built this for my brother Malachi, who is nonverbal and autistic. Every feature is here because he needed it that week, not because a roadmap said so. Most capable AAC apps cost $200–300, which asks a family to choose between capable and affordable. This is my attempt at neither.

THE BOARD

• Tap a tile to speak. Categories keep words findable as the board grows. • Sentence Builder: collect tiles into a strip and speak the whole phrase, with next-word suggestions learned from the words this board actually uses. • Quick Actions row and a Recently Used tab for the words that come up constantly. • Search the board by word when it outgrows one screen.

A REAL VOICE, NOT JUST A SYNTHETIC ONE

Record a parent saying "Mom", a sibling's name, or any word the built-in voice gets wrong. The recording plays instead of the synthetic voice — on its own and inside a built sentence. Recordings never leave the device.

TYPE TO SPEAK

For anyone who can spell what they want to say: a keyboard that speaks in the same voice as the board, with saved phrases one tap away and matching phrases surfacing as you type. Put a message on the whole screen in big text for a noisy room or a drive-through window. It can replace the picture board entirely for that profile.

PICTURES

Discovery signals