It’s not every day that someone like Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, posts about one lauding her/his work. And when she does, it makes news. Sandberg’s story-telling of a 19-year-old Indian boy Harsh Songra and his novel project My Child App has grabbed the world’s attention.
His app as an example of startup is being supported by Facebook under its FBStart programme.
Image courtesy: mychildapp.in
This is what Sandberg has to tell about Harsh:
Harsh Songra is a 19 year old software developer from India. He grew up with a condition called dyspraxia. Because he…
This boy hailing from Bhopal has developed an Android app that can tell parents if their child is likely to be suffering from any developmental disorder, just in a matter of 45 seconds.
Image courtesy: Harsh Songra/facebook.com
Harsh was diagnosed of having dyspraxia, a developmental coordination disorder. A late diagnosis when he was nine meant that there couldn’t be much to do about it. He had once failed in a subject in sixth grade and the teachers too gave up on him. They rather suggested his parents to send him to a school for disabled children. However, his father introduced him to various types of games to overcome the problems.
Harsh learnt Android programming when he was 16. He took a cue from his own experiences and came up with My Child App that processes basic inputs like the child’s height, weight and gender to identify neurological disorders and disorders related to delayed motor coordination.
Image courtesy: play.google.com
The innovator also says: “We do not claim that the child suffers from the disorder as there could be a lot of variations in the attainment of milestones, but still – what’s suggested by the app may need prompt advice/checkup by the specialist.” However, there’s no doubt that it works as a great referral point especially in a country like India where there is limited awareness about such health problems.
Image courtesy: play.google.com
It was launched in the Play Store this January. It has so far recorded downloads from across six continents.
He is currently studying at Bhopal School of Social Sciences and has also founded Studiebay, a search engine for coaching classes. He hopes that the app reaches as many as 50 million parents in the coming decade.
