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From YouTube: TEDxYouth@TorreAve: Eesha Ramkumar (2019)
Description
Eesha Ramkumar is a rising junior at Monta Vista High School, Cupertino. Inspired by special needs students, she teamed up with two others and created a mobile app to help kids with autism cope with their daily challenges. The app won the US championship at Technovation and was a world finalist among 20,000 contestants. To help her community further, she founded a non-profit organization, Kids Who Kode, where she taught over two hundred kids to code in Scratch, Python, and Java. At school, she is the president of the Women In AI Club, and mentors younger girls as they create apps. Eesha also knows classical Indian dance as well as how to speak fluent mandarin.
A
When
Tyler
was
2
years
old
differences
between
him
and
other
kids,
his
age
were
noticeable.
He
would
not
respond
to
his
name.
He
would
not
point
to
objects
when
asked
his
parents
were
worried.
Their
research
pointed
to
the
autism
spectrum
disorder,
but
they
quickly
dismissed
that
idea.
No,
that
couldn't
be
it.
It
wasn't
until
Tyler
was
six
years
old
entering
the
first
grade
that
he
was
diagnosed
with
autism
spectrum
disorder.
A
group
of
complex
developmental
disabilities
that
caused
problem
with
social
interaction
and
communication
Tyler's
social
behavioral
and
language
issues
were
prominent
at
8-6.
A
He
had
a
22
word
vocabulary.
While
his
peers
were
virtual
chatterboxes,
he
had
trouble
with
his
memory,
as
he
couldn't
even
remember
the
names
of
his
own
family
members.
It
was
sweet
kid
at
heart,
Tyler
didn't
interact
much
with
others.
He
didn't
make
eye
contact,
he
barely
smiles
and
most
certainly
hated
to
be
touched.
A
A
A
In
fact,
I
only
became
aware
of
autism
in
my
freshman
year
of
high
school
when
I
visited
the
special
education
community
for
autistic
individuals.
Here,
I
saw
kids,
my
age
struggled
to
be
heard,
shut
down
from
opportunities,
even
though
their
promising
talents
were
so
immense.
I
spent
my
afternoons
with
them
I
would
teach
them
the
alphabet
play
games
with
them.
Do
anything,
I
could
and
while
I
was
there.
I
noticed
something
that
fascinated
me.
Something
I
found
interesting.
A
These
kids,
who
were
somehow
deemed
unusual
not
considered
normal
by
society
standards,
were
incredibly
comfortable
using
technology.
They
were
messaging
friends
playing
games,
taking
pictures,
and
it
was
here
that
it
struck
me.
Perhaps
I
could
help
them
a
different
way.
Perhaps
I
could
use
technology
create
an
app
to
help
them
with
their
vocabulary
and
their
emotions.
A
There
was
just
one
problem:
I
couldn't
code
at
all
when
you
need
to
create
an
app.
What
are
you
right?
Where
do
you
write
it?
How
do
you
even
write
it
so
work?
I
was
so
intimidated.
I
had
seen
others
do
it,
but
somehow,
when
it
was
my
turn,
I
was
just
lost.
I
didn't
even
know
what
to
make
my
app
about
with
two
other
friends
I
reached
out
to
specialists,
mentors
directors.
We
asked
them
what
was
going
to
help
what
was
needed.
What
was
really
gonna
make
a
difference.
A
The
real
question
was:
how
are
we
going
to
build
it?
I,
quite
frankly,
spent
hours
together
scrolling
through
sack
overflow,
looking
at
YouTube
and
Khan
Academy.
At
one
point,
ain't,
even
like
the
app
I,
was
building
so
much
that
I
had
to
scratch.
The
entire
thing
rebuild,
restart
and
rethink
I
felt
like
I
failed
here.
A
The
first
feature
is
the
interaction
feature.
This
feature
teaches
them
about
daily
activities.
Emotions
objects
allowing
them
to
build
their
vocabulary.
The
app
shows
them
a
picture.
Here
we
have
a
woman
who's
upset.
It
then
asks
them
a
question
out
loud
like
how
is
this
lady
feeling
after
hearing
that
question,
the
student
can
then
respond
back
to
the
app
with
an
answer
like
sad.
A
The
second
feature
is
the
relaxation
feature.
This
feature
aims
to
calm
and
relaxed
anxiety.
It
has
meditative
tracks
calming
music
and
a
personalizable
breathing
simulator.
The
simulator
is
actually
set
to
the
pace
of
calm
breathing
and
that
expanding
and
contracting
nature
then
allows
for
them
to
inhale
and
exhale.
It's
calming
them
down.
I
was
so
excited
with
my
product.
I
gave
it
to
every
single
student
at
the
center
I
had
met.
A
Now
is
the
most
rewarding
moment
I
could
have
asked,
for
they
were
actually
using
the
app
they
were
breathing
in
and
out
with
the
simulator.
They
were
speaking
to
the
feature
it
somehow
felt
like
I
had
given
them
the
attention
they
needed.
Given
them,
a
gift
meant
only
for
them
and
I
couldn't
have
been
happier
than
in
that
moment.
A
A
Tell
you
my
story,
because
I
want
to
inspire
you
as
young
adults
to
take
time
to
find
ways
to
create
a
better
future
for
the
people
around
you
last
year,
I
taught
over
200
kits
from
public
schools
how
to
code,
because
I
wanted
to
give
them
the
tools
and
teach
them
a
little
more
about
technology,
so
they
don't
feel
intimidated,
like
I
did
and
can
help
their
communities
as
well.
So
whether
you
choose
to
use
music
art
science
technology,
we
can
create
a
better
tomorrow
by
starting
today.
Thank
you.