Students make app for people with autism

Students from the Bronx are helping kids with autism find their voice. They created an app that lets people with special needs be more independent.

Gyana, Zoe, Jasmin, and Rezia are only in 8th grade but they can already add "app creators" to their resumes. Gyana came up with the idea after seeing a viral video of a boy with autism who struggles to speak, working behind the counter at Starbucks.

The app, called Dolphin, helps non-communicators speak freely with just a few clicks. The girls spent long days developing the technology at their school, P.S. 224 in the South Bronx.

They entered a middle school app challenge, created by CA Technologies, a global software company and PENCIL, a nonprofit that connects city businesses with city schools. The girls faced off against two other teams in a board room. Their hard work paid off, and they won the competition.

In about a week, Dolphin will be available in the app store, ready to help those who need it.

The girls also won an opportunity to enroll in a two-week summer coding camp. They plan to work together to add another functional app to their portfolio.