About Us

WordQ was developed by a research and development team at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto with support from the Ontario Rehabilitation Technology Consortium and htx.ca-The Health Technology Exchange.

SpeakQ was developed by a research and development team at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in collaboration with the Education Development Center (Newton, MA) with funding from the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research, US Department of Education Grant No. H133G000204-02 as well as the Ontario Rehabilitation Technology Consortium and htxx.ca-The Health Technology Exchange.

Kids and families are at the heart of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. As Ontario's largest facility for young people with disabilities and special needs, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital specializes in family-centred rehabilitation and habilitation, advocacy, education and research.

Our development team is based at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Since 1982, this team has developed expertise in software architecture, design and development, human factors, computer accessibility, text-to-speech technology, augmentative and alternative communication, and the use of technology for writing. We have the broad skills necessary to take an idea from concept, through research, to final product and transfer it to industry.

We are linked with the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, the Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Department of Computer Science (Natural Language Processing) at University of Toronto as well as the Faculty of Education at University of Western Ontario. We also collaborate with the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Quillsoft Ltd., Toronto, ON, was founded in December 2000 as a private for-profit corporation arising from research and development at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Quillsoft manufactures and distributes specialized writing software (WordQ and SpeakQ software) for individuals with learning needs. Ongoing research and development of new innovations at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is being sustained through a close collaborative partnership with Quillsoft contributing royalties, matching research dollars, and in-kind support. Quillsoft is also investing directly in its own research and development.