Internal working plan · not for public release · October 2026

Kids_first

An app for teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) and the blind and low-vision children they teach, from toddler to 15. The child learns the skills sighted peers pick up by watching. The teacher sets the work and gets the IEP evidence without a separate data sheet.

Open the teacher questionnaire Early name · built on the research_platform Engine MASTER

For the child, by age band

Each band is a profile the teacher sets. The interface, wording and spoken labels change with it.

0–3

Listening and cause and effect

Short stories and songs with rich sound effects
One large target per screen: tap anywhere and something happens
CVI profile: one high-contrast object, dark background, slow movement
Story-box lists of real objects to hold during each activity
Built for a parent or teacher to use with the child

4–5

Readiness

Pre-braille tactile games: tracking, finding a dot, same and different
First touch-screen gestures through play
Following one- and two-step spoken directions
Naming body parts, objects and spaces (O&M concepts)

6–8

Early braille and screen reader

Braille letters and words on a refreshable braille display
VoiceOver and TalkBack gesture games: flick, double tap, rotor
Memory and listening games: echo-back, call and response
Practice with this week's classroom words

9–12

Curriculum access

Classroom content in braille, audio or large print
Uncontracted and contracted UEB
Note-taking, document navigation and search skills
Bookmarks and progress the child manages

13–15

Independence

Self-advocacy: describing their own vision and requesting accommodations
Independent study tools and voice-dictated journaling
Independent living, money and planning skills
Using AI sight-assistance apps well, taught as a skill
The interface steps back as independence grows

Skills covered: the nine ECC areas

Every skill has a fixed address, area.skill.step, so records stay stable as the catalogue grows. Example: ECC 1.203.2 is area 1, skill 203, step 2.

Area 1Compensatory and accessBraille, tactile graphics, listening
Area 2Sensory efficiencyFunctional vision, CVI, touch, hearing
Area 3Assistive technologyScreen readers, braille displays
Area 4Orientation and mobilityConcepts; instruction stays with O&M
Area 5Independent livingDaily routines, money, cooking
Area 6Social interactionConversation, body language
Area 7Recreation and leisureGames, sport, hobbies
Area 8Career educationInterests, work habits
Area 9Self-determinationSelf-advocacy, choice-making

Each skill lists its age band, learning media and a default mastery rule, such as 4 of 5 trials across 3 sessions
Skill pathways show what each skill builds on and what it leads to
Skill text written fresh and reviewed by credentialed TVIs, credited by name

For the teacher

Most of the paid value sits here: the time an itinerant TVI spends on paperwork.

Teaching

Assign skills to each child, tied to specific IEP goals
Turn any classroom material into practice, from Bookshare titles to this week's spelling list
Add your own local skills and steps alongside the catalogue
Search the whole catalogue, with spelling suggestions

Evidence

Each attempt recorded as the child works: result, prompt level, learning media used
Running accuracy per child and per step, always up to date
Draft progress reports for IEP meetings
Automatic service logs: date, time, skills covered
A caseload view across every child

For families

Home carry-over activities the teacher assigns
A simple progress view, in plain language
Story-box and everyday-object ideas for the youngest children

Accessibility, built in from the start

The device's own screen reader comes first: VoiceOver and TalkBack
Refreshable braille display support through the screen reader
Braille lessons in uncontracted and contracted UEB, with braille files for embossing
Spoken feedback cues, such as "correct" and "next word"

CVI display profile and large-print, high-contrast themes
Simpler spoken labels for younger age bands
No time pressure and no meaning carried by color alone
Spoken numbers and dates in English, Indian English, Swahili and Hindi already supported

Privacy and records

Works fully offline; the phone app needs no internet permission
Children's records stay on the device by default, never in a vendor cloud
Add-only, tamper-evident records: corrections never erase history
Learners identified by a teacher-chosen code, not a name, by default
No camera or video recording of children
Backup and restore under the teacher's control
Children's data kept in its own pack, apart from shipped content, for district privacy reviews

Platform

Built on the four-component research_platform: engine, subject packs, screens, and the wiring between them
Engine upgrades for this iteration: possessives found by their base word, word positions for instant phrase and nearness searches, smaller files
Search answers in under a millisecond on common words, measured on the full King James text
One codebase for iPad, iPhone, Android, Chromebook and desktop browsers
Two packs: a free skills catalogue and a separate children's records pack

Planned pricing

A starting position, to be tested with the questionnaire.

Skills catalogue and child practice: free, for every family and teacher
Teacher records and reporting: a paid license, per teacher or per district
Route to schools: APH and Federal Quota eligibility

Compared with the nearest alternatives

Supported by online research, October 2026.

Product	Ages	Skills	Child uses it	Records IEP data	Platforms
Company A	Transition students	Multiple lessons, several ECC areas	Teacher-led lessons	Not described	iOS, Android
Company B	Infant to secondary	CVI activities	Yes	Yes, gaze and touch	iPad
Company C	Any	None: general IEP tracking	No	Yes	iPad
Kids_first	Toddler to 15	All nine ECC areas, plus teacher-added skills	Yes, with own access technology	Yes, automatically	iOS, Android, Chromebook, desktop