Every question, one clean answer

StarSeeker is built for children learning to decode words, especially kids who benefit from extra modeling, more response time, or a lower-pressure way to practice. It was inspired by one family's experience with childhood apraxia of speech, but no diagnosis is required — any pre-reader or early reader can start.

StarSeeker works best for children ages 4 to 9 who are learning letter sounds through early fluency, though its eleven-planet sequence adapts to any starting point. A guardian selects the tier and starting planet during setup, so an older child who is still an early reader can also start at the right level.

StarSeeker is a web app that runs directly in the browser — no app-store download or install required. It works on tablets, laptops, and phones, so your child can play on whatever device your family already has, without using up storage space.

No. Every direction in StarSeeker is spoken aloud by Nova, the co-pilot character, so a pre-reader can navigate menus, missions, and the galaxy map without reading a single word. Reading is what StarSeeker teaches, not a requirement to begin playing.

Yes. The eleven-planet sequence is a structured, systematic phonics program covering the same letter-sound progression taught in kindergarten and early-elementary classrooms, so it works well as a homeschool phonics curriculum, a summer-slide review, or extra practice alongside school reading instruction.

Yes. Nova speaks every direction out loud, and a 🔈 button on every screen replays the instructions for the current game any time. A pre-reader can start any mission without reading a single word, and never gets stuck because the directions already played once.

The Mission of the Day is one short, bonus mission that arrives once per day. It's built from the words and skills your child is due to review, and finishing it opens a daily cargo chest of building blocks. It never gates progress — it's purely a bonus.

A guardian answers a short set of questions about observable skills, which sets an estimated starting planet. An optional Star Scan then measures that estimate for real — a few word reads that walk up on success and ease off on a miss, with no test feel and a tap-only path. It's skippable; the questionnaire stays the fallback.

Yes. Apraxia of speech affects how a child plans and produces spoken sounds, but it doesn't prevent them from learning to decode and understand written words. StarSeeker was built for exactly this: a tap and AAC-friendly reading program that never requires a spoken response to make progress.

Look for a program that separates reading practice from speech production, so it doesn't require your child to talk in order to progress. StarSeeker works this way: structured phonics, spoken directions, and tap and AAC-friendly answers that never require a microphone. Optional voice coaching starts off; when a guardian enables it, Microsoft Azure AI Speech assesses a prompted attempt and StarSeeker discards the recording immediately.

No. Every mission can be answered by tapping or with familiar AAC supports, so a microphone is never required. Optional voice coaching starts off. A guardian can enable it per child; Microsoft Azure AI Speech then assesses only prompted attempts, and StarSeeker immediately discards the recording without storing audio or a transcript.

Yes. StarSeeker is fully playable through tap and AAC-friendly responses, with no spoken answers required at any point in public family play. Directions are spoken aloud by the game, so a child who doesn't yet talk can still navigate independently and practice reading.

No. StarSeeker is an educational reading-practice game. It does not diagnose or treat apraxia of speech, and it is not a replacement for a speech-language pathologist, reading specialist, teacher, or medical professional — it supplements that work, it never replaces it.

StarSeeker's no-failure design, tap and AAC-friendly answers, spoken directions, and predictable mission structure work well for many autistic children learning to read, though every child is different. StarSeeker makes no diagnostic or clinical claims — it's a structured phonics practice game, not a certified therapy tool.

Yes — Tadamo (tuh-DAH-moh), built by the same dad. It's a tap-to-talk picture board and speech translator for kids with childhood apraxia of speech: the child taps a big phrase tile or just speaks, and Tadamo says it clearly. A free TestFlight beta is open through the waiting list at tadamospeak.com.

Voice coaching is optional and starts off. If a guardian enables it, the child still makes a separate first-use radio choice before microphone access is requested. After that, the microphone opens automatically only during a clearly announced speaking turn, shows a visible listening indicator, and closes when the turn ends — it never listens elsewhere. Microsoft Azure AI Speech assesses the attempt, then StarSeeker discards it immediately unless a separate, current Tadamo agreement authorizes that speaker's learning-copy import. A failed delivery remains only as encrypted ciphertext for up to 24 hours, and StarSeeker never stores a transcript. A guardian can revoke consent anytime from the family account.

Just a first name or nickname, guardian-selected reading and speaking levels, and mission progress — never an email address, legal name, birth date, or diagnosis. StarSeeker does not sell child information, run behavioral advertising, or use a child's data to advertise to them.

Yes. A guardian-only dashboard shows mission progress, phonics skills practiced, and reading history for each child profile, designed to be understandable at a glance — and easily shareable, at the guardian's choice, with a teacher or speech-language pathologist reviewing progress.

Open Radio is an optional, guardian-controlled mode that is off by default, and most families never turn it on. When a guardian opts in, it listens only while reading text is on screen, in clips of about ten seconds, with a listening light always visible. Each clip is assessed and discarded — never stored, and never sent to Tadamo. The full details are in the Children's Privacy Notice.