The Story
"She couldn't tell us what hurt"
Luke built TinkySpeak for two people: his nonverbal autistic son, and his mother recovering from a stroke. Same family. Same need. Two completely different kinds of communication loss.
His son needed tiles to build sentences — "I want juice." His mom needed to tell a nurse, "The pain is in my left side. It's an 8 out of 10. It started this morning."
The hospital had a laminated card with smiley faces. That was it. A woman who'd raised a family, run a household, lived a full life — reduced to pointing at a cartoon face.
He built Stroke Mode the week she came home. Pain mapping. Emergency alerts. Vital signs tracking. A system that treats her like the adult she is — not a child learning to speak, but a person fighting to speak again.
The journey
🏥
The stroke happens
Mom can't speak. Hospital gives her a laminated card with faces. She cries because she can't tell anyone what hurts.
💻
Stroke Mode built in one week
Pain body mapping. 0-10 scale. Emergency "call nurse" button. Vital signs dashboard. Built by the same system his son uses — adapted for adult medical needs.
✋
She points to her left side. Rating: 8.
The nurse understands immediately. For the first time since the stroke, Mom communicates something specific. The care improves overnight.
📊
Recovery tracking begins
Weekly communication reports. Pain trends. Aphasia severity estimates. Data the medical team can actually use — not guesswork.