{"679980":{"#nid":"679980","#data":{"type":"news","title":"OMSCS Alum Teams with His Family to Create App Aiding Children with Echolalia","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInspired by his son\u0027s special needs, \u003Cstrong\u003ETarun\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EChawdhury\u003C\/strong\u003E (OMSCS 22) has designed an AI-powered application that helps parents and caregivers support children with echolalia and other developmental speech issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe patent-pending app, AI4Echolalia, earned second place in the 2024 TEDAI Hackathon in San Francisco.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChawdhury is a graduate of Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/omscs.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOnline Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E program. Now a part-time OMSCS instructor, Chawdury credits his education at Georgia Tech with empowering him to excel in his career and tackle pressing challenges in healthcare and accessibility.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChawdury\u0027s academic journey began in the early 2000s in India, where he earned a bachelor\u0027s degree in information technology. Over the years, he honed his integration and programming skills while working in the healthcare sector for Blue Shield of California and CareSource.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, a personal motivation sparked a new direction in his career\u2014his son\u0027s echolalia diagnosis. Determined to leverage technology to help his son and others with similar challenges, Chawdury enrolled in the OMSCS program in 2020.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022AI and neuroscience are the future,\u0022 he said, explaining how his coursework in health informatics and big data for health equipped him with the foundational skills needed to explore new artificial intelligence (AI) frontiers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMotivated by his son\u0027s experiences with speech therapy, Chawdury envisioned a solution that could extend the benefits of treatment into the home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChawdury used the skills he developed through OMSCS to create AI4Echollia. The app assists children with speech delays, particularly those who struggle with echolalia. Individuals with this condition involuntarily repeat words or phrases without understanding their context.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe app leverages Google\u0027s Gemini multimodal API platform to analyze conversations between parents and children, providing real-time guidance for parents on how to best engage with their children.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe app is meant to fill accessibility gaps caused by the high demand for speech therapists by automating elements of speech therapy. \u0022It\u0027s not a replacement for therapy, but an assistant,\u0022 Chawdury said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChawdury\u0027s family was pivotal in bringing the AI4Echolalia project to life. His wife, a special education teacher, contributed her expertise, while their 14-year-old daughter helped pitch the idea to TEDAI San Francisco and other hackathons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast October, the team\u0027s efforts culminated in a successful presentation at the 2024 TEDAI Hackathon in San Francisco. Along with accolades and encouragement from industry leaders, Chawdury and his family won second place for their AI4Echollia app.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our team\u2014comprised of myself, my wife Mousumi, our daughter Tanisha, and our son Arinjoy\u2014developed this AI-powered solution to support caregivers and parents of children with echolalia. Testing this project with Arinjoy was incredibly meaningful for us,\u0022 said Chawdury.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChawdury envisions broader applications for the technology beyond speech therapy. \u0022This architecture could be adapted for other use cases, like streamlining education plans for special needs students or automating patient documentation in healthcare,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChawdury and his family continue developing the app and thoroughly testing it internally with more AI-enabled features. They are also working to engage supportive organizations to explore future collaborations. A neurologist has joined the project as an advisor, and they are actively seeking partnerships with speech therapy agencies to refine and expand the app\u0027s capabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EReflecting on his time at Georgia Tech, Chawdury expressed gratitude for the OMSCS program and its community of educators, including OMSCS Executive Director \u003Cstrong\u003EDavid\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EJoyner\u003C\/strong\u003E, whom he credits as a significant influence. \u0022The foundation I built at Georgia Tech has allowed me to pivot into AI and make a real difference,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChawdury said his journey is as much about personal growth as it is about societal impact. \u0022I want to help my son and others like him,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is about using technology to empower families and create a better future for those who need it most.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOMSCS alum Tarun Chawdury, now a part-time OMSCS instructor, and his family developed an AI-powered application that helps parents and caregivers support children with echolalia and other developmental speech issues. The patent-pending app, AI4Echolalia, earned second place in the 2024 TEDAI Hackathon in San Francisco.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The patent-pending app, AI4Echolalia, earned second place in the 2024 TEDAI Hackathon in San Francisco."}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2025-01-27 15:13:03","changed_gmt":"2025-02-04 15:55:51","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-01-27T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-01-27T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676141":{"id":"676141","type":"image","title":"Tanisha Chawdhury (2nd from left) on stage at the 2024 TED AI San Francisco hackathon.","body":null,"created":"1737990792","gmt_created":"2025-01-27 15:13:12","changed":"1737990792","gmt_changed":"2025-01-27 15:13:12","alt":"Tanisha Chawdhury (2nd from left) on stage at the 2024 TED AI San Francisco hackathon.","file":{"fid":"259864","name":"tarun-image1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/27\/tarun-image1.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/27\/tarun-image1.png","mime":"image\/png","size":722330,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/01\/27\/tarun-image1.png?itok=yAzK-3o0"}},"676142":{"id":"676142","type":"image","title":"Tarun Chawdury (right), his wife Mousumi (center), and their children meet with San Fransico Mayor London Nicole Breed (left).","body":null,"created":"1737990847","gmt_created":"2025-01-27 15:14:07","changed":"1737990847","gmt_changed":"2025-01-27 15:14:07","alt":"Tarun Chawdury (right), his wife Mousumi (center), and their children meet with San Fransico Mayor London Nicole Breed (left)","file":{"fid":"259865","name":"tarun-image2.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/27\/tarun-image2.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/27\/tarun-image2.png","mime":"image\/png","size":337344,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/01\/27\/tarun-image2.png?itok=2ukZRiU_"}}},"media_ids":["676141","676142"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"506","name":"alumni"},{"id":"121521","name":"OMSCS"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBen Snedeker, Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:albert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ealbert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}