Children with communication disorders may soon be able to keep their parents abreast of the activities thanks to new software that collects information from sensors in a student’s environment.

Sensors attached to wheelchairs, recording devices and swipe cards all gather information about a child’s movements and experiences at school during the day. The information is then turned into a narrative by a computer, which uses natural language generation to relay the story to parents when the child returns home. Children can comment on events or edit out information that is spoken aloud to their parents. The computer system suggests topics for them to include in the narrative, such as lunch and swimming, but they choose what they wish to converse about, and can add comments such as ‘this was fun’ and ‘that was boring’. A recording device is also incorporated into the system which allows people who come into contact with the children to give more detailed information about events during the day. All the information is formed into a narrative that can be played back to parents when the child returns home.

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