Every child has something to say.
Cottontail is a picture-based communication app for non-verbal and minimally verbal children. Tap a card, and it speaks. Build a sentence, and it grows with them.
Free to download · iOS and Android · Phones and tablets
Built by a dad, for his daughter.
Our daughter is autistic and non-verbal. Like so many families, we tried the communication tools that existed and kept running into the same walls: apps that were rigid where she needed flexibility, cluttered where she needed clarity, or priced like enterprise software.
So we built Cottontail — shaped by watching what she actually reached for and refined with input from her speech therapist along the way. Every design decision came from a real kid's daily life.
Under the soft colors sits real AAC practice: the Fitzgerald Key color-coding SLPs use to teach parts of speech, a core-word sentence bar for chaining words into real thoughts, a fixed no-scroll grid that builds motor planning, and fringe vocabulary organized in topic folders. Everything is editable, because no two children need the same words.
It gave our daughter a way to be heard. We hope it does the same for your family.
— The Cottontail family
Thoughtfully made. Simply priced.
Grounded in real AAC practice
Fitzgerald Key color-coding, a core-word sentence bar, fixed layouts that build motor planning, and picture-word pairing on every card. Whole-phrase boards support gestalt language processors too — kids who learn language in chunks rather than single words.
Made to be personalized
Rename any card, swap in your own photos, hide what isn't needed, and add what is. A card can even show one word but speak a whole sentence — "Grandma" can say "I want to go to Grandma's house." Your child's board reflects your child's world.
One purchase, yours for life
The communication board and Pain Map are free — permanently. A single $29.99 purchase unlocks everything else. No subscription, no ads, no upsells.
Six tools for one voice
Every screenshot below is the real app. And the first time you open it, BunBun walks you through every tab.
Grid
The home board — a full set of words, color-coded and organized in folders. Tap words to build a sentence in the bar, then press play to speak the whole thing.
Quick
Everyday go-to phrases, spoken the moment they're tapped — plus the full Words & Phrases library, organized into folders like Feelings, Mealtime, School, and Safety.
Keyboard
Type anything at all and Cottontail speaks it — perfect for words that aren't on a card yet. Recent phrases are saved for easy reuse.
Pain Map
A simple body outline, front and back. Your child taps where it hurts, and Cottontail says it out loud — no words required.
Calm
A dedicated space for regulation: guided breathing, counting, a bubble-popping fidget, a drawing and coloring studio, Sing Along songs with word-by-word highlighting, and calm videos you curate — paste your own YouTube links, and only those clips can ever play.
Mine
Your child's favorites, gathered on one board. Star any card to keep it here, drag to arrange, and create custom cards with their own photos — including a My Scripts folder for the exact phrases your child uses.
You stay in control of the details
Cottontail is simple for a child to use because caregivers can shape everything behind the scenes.
- Adjustable voice — pitch, speed, and voice presets
- Static or dynamic layouts — keep every card in a fixed spot to build motor memory, or let cards reflow as you customize
- "Stay in folder" mode keeps the board from resetting mid-thought — ideal for modeling multi-word phrases alongside your child
- Show or hide any card, folder, or entire tab
- Custom cards with your own photos, emoji, or drawings
- Add your own YouTube videos by link — only the clips you approve can play, and the app never opens YouTube itself
Simple, and it stays that way
Free to download on the App Store and Google Play. Premium unlocks right inside the app — one payment, no subscription, no ads, no surprises.
Free
- Grid — the full home board with sentence building
- Pain Map
- Text-to-speech voice
- BunBun's guided tour for new families
Premium
- Everything in Free
- Quick phrases board, with the full Words & Phrases library
- Type-to-speak Keyboard
- Search every word & phrase
- Edit any card — rename, re-picture, hide & revert
- Custom cards, Favorites & the Mine tab
- Calm corner — breathe, draw, sing & videos
Available as an in-app purchase inside the free app.
Good to know
Yes. Your child's boards, photos, and settings belong to your family. We don't sell data, we don't show ads, and we don't track your child.
iOS and Android, on both phones and tablets — including iPad. It's the same full app on every device.
Yes. Your purchase is tied to the Apple ID or Google account that bought it — tap "Restore Purchases" in Settings on the new device and it comes right back. Family Sharing works too, so eligible family members' devices unlock automatically.
Any child who communicates better with pictures and spoken cards — whether they're autistic, have a speech delay, or are still developing verbal language. It was designed with young non-verbal children in mind, but there's no age limit on having a voice.
Really. The app is free to download, the free features are free forever, and Premium is a single one-time in-app purchase — download the app first, then unlock everything whenever you're ready. We think a child's voice shouldn't come with a monthly bill.
Never — Cottontail contains no advertising of any kind. One honest note: Calm videos stream from YouTube, so if a clip you add carries YouTube's own ads, those come from YouTube, not from us. Choosing ad-free clips keeps the experience completely ad-free.
Cottontail is actively developed, and family requests drive the roadmap. If there's something your child needs, we want to hear about it — reach out any time.
Ready when they are.
Download Cottontail free and start with the communication board today.