C.H.A.T.
Columbia High School | White Salmon, WA
Project Invent 2020-2021
$1000 Panel's Choice Award
Image by Jacob Bertram
C.H.A.T., Communication Help with Assisted Technology, is a device that employs bluetooth technology to send messages between teachers and students with speech impairments and other verbal limitations. It was created by Madison Swanson, Dylan Durand, Wyatt Sheaves, CC Ahrens, Cin Ahrens, and Henry Kirkwood with inspiration from their community partner, Aiden Dennis. Due to a speech disorder called Childhood Aproxia of Speech, Aiden has faced difficulty quickly voicing thoughts, concerns, and questions in the classroom. In response, the team created C.H.A.T., a small, discreet tool that contains a handful of common messages – one version serving students in a classroom, another meant for instructors. With the device, users such as Aiden can click a button to call a teacher over for help, express agreement, and more. Teachers immediately receive the message on their device and have the option to answer with corresponding preset messages. Through C.H.A.T., those with verbal impairments are empowered to participate in environments that generally favor fast-paced communication.