ExpressBuddy: An AI-Powered Companion for Children with Communication Challenges

By Sanjay Shreeyans Javangula & Soham Shekhar

Giving every child the tools to find their voice.

The Challenge

Limited Practice: Children get only 1–3 hours of therapy a week, leaving 165+ hours without structured guidance.

The Emotional Toll: This lack of practice often leads to deep communication anxiety, social isolation, and a fear of speaking up.

The Solution

ExpressBuddy bridges this gap. We provide a safe, judgment-free AI companion so children can practice conversation, navigate social anxiety, and build confidence outside the therapy.

SLP & Student Endorsements

"Pico has been a very flexible tool for the things we need to target for speech therapy"
Teacher A (Speech Language Pathologist)
"Pico gave me a good plan in handling bullying and helped me bond with my mom"
Student A

Three Features to Help Children Build Skills

1. Emotion Detective

An interactive facial emotion recognition and reproduction module.

  • Children identify the correct facial expression from diverse options.
  • They mirror the expression using their own face in front of the camera.
  • Advanced computer vision tracks facial muscle movement.
  • 68-point facial landmark detection verifies accurate reproduction.

2. Talk with Pico

A natural voice-based dialogue companion.

  • Voice-based conversations where children discuss emotions and experiences using natural language.
  • Patient, zero-pressure, active listening designed for neurodiverse children.
  • System maintains conversation history and user preferences to enable personalized, context-aware interactions.

3. Pico's Challenges

Active learning through teaching with role-reversal coaching.

  • Pico Challenges use role-reversal, where the child coaches Pico through 15+ real-world social scenarios.
  • Pico makes mistakes (gets anxious ordering food, forgets manners, struggles with peer pressure), and the child guides him step-by-step to practice their own social scripts.
  • Example Scenarios:
  • - Ordering Food at a Restaurant (Social Skills)
  • - Standing Up to Peer Pressure (Emotional Skills)
  • - Managing Anxiety Before a Big Event (Emotional Skills)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the therapy gap that ExpressBuddy addresses?

Most children with communication challenges only receive 1-3 hours of structured therapy a week, leaving over 165+ hours without practice. This lack of guidance can cause social isolation, anxiety, and a fear of speaking. ExpressBuddy bridges this gap by providing an accessible, judgment-free AI companion to practice outside of clinic hours.

How do Pico's Challenges use role-reversal to teach social skills?

Pico's Challenges put the child in the role of the coach/teacher. Pico the Panda makes mistakes, gets anxious ordering food, struggles with peer pressure, or forgets manners. The child guides Pico step-by-step, reinforcing their own understanding of social scripts by explaining them to Pico.

What technical features does the Emotion Detective use?

The Emotion Detective uses advanced computer vision and 68-point facial landmark detection. Children are asked to identify a facial expression and mirror it, and the system tracks their facial muscle movements to verify accurate reproduction in real-time.

How does Talk with Pico work?

Talk with Pico enables natural, voice-based conversations. The system maintains conversation history and user preferences to generate personalized, context-aware interactions that allow children to safely discuss their emotions and daily experiences.