Why Autism Saathi Exists
Indian families of autistic and ADHD children face a consistent set of challenges: expensive private therapy, limited government services, fragmented information, no support tools in Hindi, and almost no free digital resources designed for Indian contexts.
Autism Saathi was created to change this. It is a free, comprehensive web app — no download required, no subscription, no ads — designed specifically for Indian families raising children with autism, ADHD, and related developmental differences.
Everything on Autism Saathi is free because the families who need it most are often those with the fewest resources.
Communication Tools
AAC Board
The AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) board gives non-verbal and minimally verbal autistic children a voice. Features:
- 60+ picture symbols with Hindi and English labels
- Organized by category: food, feelings, activities, places, people
- Text-to-speech output in Hindi and English
- Works on any smartphone — no download, no internet required after loading
- Designed for Indian contexts (roti, dal, and chai alongside milk and bread)
Open on any phone. Hand it to your child. Start communicating today.
Feelings Board
A body map that allows children to indicate physical sensations and emotions by tapping their body. "Loud ears," "tight chest," "jumpy legs" — visual, non-verbal communication of internal states. Works for children who cannot express pain or emotion verbally.
Structure & Routine Tools
Visual Schedule
Build your child's daily routine with picture cards. Features:
- 24 preset activity types with emoji
- Custom activities and time labels
- Child Mode: large, clean display your child navigates independently
- Supabase sync: schedule saved across devices (sign in required)
- Completion checkmarks for each activity
The visual schedule is the most-used tool on Autism Saathi. Research consistently shows visual schedules reduce transition-related meltdowns by 40–60%.
Visual Timer
A shrinking arc timer your child can see. Turns yellow, then red as time runs out. Prescribed by occupational therapists for transitions and time management. Available free here — it typically costs ₹1,500–5,000 as a physical device.
Behavior & Wellness Tools
Behavior Tracker
Log daily behavior incidents with: date/time, mood, intensity (1–10), trigger, location, and what helped. Synced to your account across all devices.
After 5+ entries, the Meltdown Pattern Detector analyzes your data to reveal: peak risk days and times, most common triggers, most effective strategies, trend direction (improving or worsening).
This feature alone replaces what behavior analysts charge ₹5,000–15,000/month to provide.
Reward Chart
Daily goal tracker with token economy — specifically designed for ADHD and autism. Set 3–4 daily behavioral targets. Earn tokens immediately upon completion. Weekly bar chart shows progress across 7 days. Redeem tokens for preferred rewards. Built for ADHD brains: daily fresh start, immediate reinforcement, small frequent rewards.
Calm Down Corner
Breathing exercises (bubble breathing, box breathing), sensory checklist, and noise level scale. For moments of escalating emotion or sensory overwhelm — a pocket regulation toolkit.
Therapy Support Tools
Sensory Diet Builder
Create a personalized sensory diet for your child based on their sensory profile. Morning, midday, and evening activity recommendations tailored to whether your child is sensory-seeking or sensory-avoiding across vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile, and auditory systems.
Progress Journal
Record wins, milestones, moods, and therapy observations. Synced to Supabase — accessible on any device, never lost. Auto-feeds into the Therapist Report.
Therapist Report Generator
One-tap generation of a formatted weekly progress report from your journal entries. Shareable via WhatsApp directly to your therapist or school. No more scrambling to summarize the week verbally at the start of a session — arrive with data.
Social Stories Library
Pre-built and customizable visual stories to prepare your child for new situations: doctor's visit, haircut, festival crowds, new school year. Research shows Social Stories significantly reduce anxiety around novel situations for autistic children.
Caregiver Support
Caregiver Wellbeing Check
A 5-question weekly burnout assessment for the parent. Gives a wellbeing score, identifies high-risk areas (sleep, social support, respite), and offers personalized self-care suggestions and local helpline numbers.
Resource Finder
Curated database of special schools, therapists, hospitals, and NGOs across Indian cities. Government scheme guide for UDID, disability pension, RTE rights, and tax benefits.
Technical Features That Matter for India
Works on any smartphone. No iOS-only restriction, no high-end Android requirement. Optimized for lower-end devices on slow connections.
Hindi language support throughout the app — key tools are labeled and voiced in Hindi.
No download required. Open autismsaathi.in in any browser. Bookmark on home screen for app-like experience.
Cross-device sync. Sign in once with your email (magic link, no password to forget). All your data — schedule, tracker, journal — available on any device automatically.
Offline capability for core tools (AAC board, visual schedule view, calm-down corner).