My brother was diagnosed with severe autism when he was 2 years old. I was 10 back then. He had been non-verbal and unable to read for a long time. I remember those days when we wanted him to speak a word.
He was having a hard time focusing and learning. But when I bought my first smartphone, I realized my brother has a special interest in smart devices, about 10 times longer than his usual attention to his surroundings. After that, I bought him an iPad as a gift.
Then I noticed a problem. There weren’t suitably designed applications for children with disabilities like his. Some communication apps (AAC) were too expensive, and the games were very difficult for him. Because of that, he could play only a few apps, some of which included ads that can be harmful to him.
So with my close friend, we decided to build a basic color game to teach colors to my brother. In a relatively short period of time, he became able to distinguish the colors. His interest and success inspired us to build games for every child who can benefit from them, and we created Otsimo, a mobile education platform for children with disabilities.
We believe that education is a basic human right and are determined to improve our work until proper special education is available and accessible to each and every household in need.
Zafer Elcik, Co-founder of Otsimo
ASHOKA FELLOW
We reached
We work together on lessons daily, but he can also play independently. He loves the sound games so much he'd play all day if I let him!
I am a special education teacher in a special education school. The app is very convenient and useful for my children. I recommend it to all my colleagues.
As a behavior specialist, I will be recommending to the families I work with. I’m particularly thrilled about the no-advertising approach!
Meet
CTO, Director of Engineering
CEO
Director of Design & Art
Director of Products
Game & Engineering Manager
Director of Marketing
Art Manager
Growth Manager & Creative Producer
HR manager aka. Chief Happiness Officer
Finance Manager
Operations Specialist & Community Manager
Frontend Developer
Game Developer
Software Developer
Copy Editor and Content Writer
Animator
Play Designer
Illustrator
Frontend Developer
Software Developer
Software Developer
Software Developer
Associate Product Manager
QA Tester
Unity Animator
iOS Developer
Support & Outreach Specialist
Jr. Growth Specialist
Game Developer
Chief Cat Officer
Game Developer
Game Developer
Otsimo is a social startup focused on social impact. There isn’t any appropriate institutional infrastructure for social startups in Turkey. Because of that social startups use multiple institutional structures under one roof.
Educational content production, content creation, and curriculum studies are carried out by the Inclusive Education Association (“Kapsayıcı Eğitim Derneği”) on behalf of otsimo.com. Technology and education development activities are carried out by Otsimo Bilişim A.Ş on behalf of otsimo.com.