In a remarkable confluence of deep-tech innovation and inclusive design, Monks—the digital-first global brand of S4 Capital plc—has partnered with India’s Centre for Community Initiative (CCI) to bring the gift of voice to nonverbal children through AI-powered speech synthesis.
The initiative, titled ‘My First Voice’, uses cutting-edge voice cloning technology to allow speech-impaired children to communicate in a voice that replicates their unique tone and texture. For many parents, this means hearing their child’s voice for the first time ever.
India's Silent Epidemic
🧠 5% of India’s population is on the Autism spectrum
🗣️ Millions of children live with speech-related impairments
According to the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (2023), nearly 5% of India’s population lies on the Autism spectrum, with many children remaining nonverbal well into their developmental years. But autism isn’t the only cause—cerebral palsy, congenital hearing loss, and other neurodevelopmental disorders also leave children trapped in silence.
In a society where verbal communication is central to social and emotional bonding, the absence of speech leads to deep-seated stigma and emotional isolation—both for the child and their family.
The Power of AI Meets Grassroots Impact
Founded by Pauzagin Tonsing, a father of a child with disabilities, the Centre for Community Initiative (CCI) is a grassroots non-profit that supports speech-impaired and developmentally challenged children in northeast India.
“The biggest challenge is diagnosis and acceptance. With acceptance comes therapy, education, and growth,” says Tonsing.
The collaboration with Monks brings a rare fusion of global AI capability and local understanding of the problem. While CCI brings the community and lived experience, Monks delivers the technical ingenuity to turn nonverbal sounds into personal, lifelike voices.
The Technology Behind ‘My First Voice’
Unlike conventional AI speech models, which are trained on clearly spoken, structured data, the My First Voice engine learns from:
- Hums, grunts, and fragmented vowels from the child
- Family voice samples to train tone and accent
- Real-world noise and multilingual context
The AI then synthesizes a hyper-personalized voice for each child, reducing the voice creation process from three days to under five minutes.
“We had to rethink the AI training approach from the ground up,” says John Paite, Chief Creative Officer, Monks India.
“The voices had to be unstructured yet natural, deeply personal yet scalable.”
The platform includes text-to-speech features, real-time audio playback, and preset phrases for children with limited motor skills or cognition.
Real Families. Real Impact.
The pilot phase of My First Voice has already brought about deeply moving transformations. One mother, overwhelmed with emotion, heard her son say “I love you too” for the very first time. A father, long unaware of his daughter’s silent creativity, listened in awe as she recited poems she had been writing for over five years. Children who once relied solely on gestures or isolated sounds are now able to express their needs, feelings, and thoughts through speech tailored to their own voice identity. As Nemzaneng, mother of young Tyson Lungousang, shared, “The day he got the app, he was overjoyed. He couldn’t stop showing it to us.” These aren’t just technological milestones—they are deeply human breakthroughs, opening up new possibilities for communication, dignity, and emotional connection.
“The day he got the app, he was overjoyed. He couldn’t stop showing it to us,” recalls Nemzaneng, mother of Tyson Lungousang.
India's Linguistic and Cultural Complexity
India's incredible diversity—over 1,600 dialects and a wide range of socio-cultural nuances—makes this technology particularly significant. Monks’ model is tuned to preserve family accents and regional speech patterns, ensuring the voice is not only functional but familiar.
This also helps tackle cultural stigma. As Patrick’s mother shares:
“People stare when he makes sounds. Now, with his voice, we don’t need to explain—we can just speak.”
What’s Next: Scaling Voice AI Across India
Armed with early success, Monks and CCI are launching an expansive rollout plan that includes:
- Partnering with state education and health departments
- Integrating the solution in therapy centers and inclusive schools
- Creating awareness campaigns to reduce stigma
“Every home today has a smartphone. That could become the single biggest learning tool,” says Pausuanlal Guite, CCI’s Head of School Administration.
Future iterations of the tool may include gesture recognition, emotion detection, and regional language support to serve more diverse needs.
About Monks
Monks is the global, data-first digital brand under S4 Capital plc, delivering integrated marketing and tech services for some of the world’s most innovative brands. Recognized as Adweek’s AI Agency of the Year (2023) and ranked among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies, Monks combines AI, creativity, and real-time strategy to drive impact across industries.
About S4Capital
Founded in 2018 by Sir Martin Sorrell, S4Capital plc (SFOR.L) is a disruptive force in digital marketing, known for its "faster, better, cheaper, more" model. With over 7,300 employees across 33 countries, it continues to lead the industry through unified content, data, and technology services.
📢 If you’d like to support or collaborate with the ‘My First Voice’ initiative, visit Monks.com or connect with CCI for community partnerships.