Bhopal teen earns Sandberg's praise for app detecting birth defects

Bhopal teenager Harsh Songra earned praise from Sheryl Sandberg, one of social networking giant Facebook’s top officials, for developing a mobile phone application that helps parents detect disorders in their newborns.

Updated on: Aug 26, 2015, 23:59:33 IST

Hindustan Times | By Shruti Tomar, Bhopal

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Bhopal teenager Harsh Songra earned praise from Sheryl Sandberg, one of social networking giant Facebook’s top officials, for developing a mobile phone application that helps parents detect disorders in their newborns – a challenge Songra’s parents grappled with till he was 9 years old and was diagnosed with dyspraxia.

Bhopal teenager Harsh Songra earned praise from Sheryl Sandberg for developing a mobile phone application that helps parents detect disorders in their newborns. (HT Photo)

“Harsh Songra is a 19-year-old software developer from India. He grew up with a condition called dyspraxia. Because he lived in a small town without access to health information, he wasn't properly diagnosed until he was nine years old. Harsh wanted to make sure other families didn't have to go through the same thing, so he built an app called MyChild that helps parents find out if their child might have a developmental disorder. It provides basic screening by asking simple questions – and can even recommend specialist doctors,” Sandberg wrote in a Facebook post late on Tuesday.

Songra’s application zeroes in on possible birth defects by asking parents to fill questionnaires that record behaviour in children. The application has received more than 1,000 downloads on Google’s application store.

Sandberg, a key figure in the global IT industry, went on to say in her post: “We're supporting developers like Harsh who have great ideas but can't always access the resources they need. Facebook's FBStart program helped MyChild get started by providing technical support, so that Harsh could focus on making the app even better. If you're a developer with a big idea, you can apply for free tools and mentorship from Facebook”.

Songra is now busy in upgrading the programme to enable it to help parents catch developmental disorders even when the child is in the fetal stage.

“I am happy that Sandberg appreciated my app in her post. I have attended a programme of ‘FB start developer’ held at Bangalore on August 11. Around 500 developers from across the country participated in the programme but FB COO choose me”, Songra told HT.

Songra has started learning android programming from the age of 16-years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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