TAMITOS: How love for our daughter became a project for the world

What you may not know about TAMITOS: our family story, seven years of experience, products, technology and a global vision.

Explore our story

1. A journey we could not have planned
2. Nina and Rastislav: two different lives, one shared mission
3. The legacy of two sisters: Zoe and Tamia
4. Looking for support: therapies, travel and difficult decisions
5. A Tale of Understanding: it all began with a book
6. The Tamit creatures: imagination that helps name emotions
7. The animated series: our biggest creative challenge
8. The video game: learning empathy through adventure
9. TAMITOS Kids: a safe digital world
10. TAMITOS Move: movement, community and support
11. Charity campaigns and the people behind the numbers
12. Schools, educators and a safe place for families
13. Partners and international connections
14. Seven years of our story and the product timeline
15. Technology and AI: working efficiently without losing our humanity
16. Financing, costs and the hardest decisions
17. The creative team and the people behind TAMITOS
18. Why TAMITOS could grow into a global story world
19. How we will measure support and real impact
20. Why this matters
21. The future: from stories to practical support
22. Our daughter's name, which we hope will become a symbol of understanding

TAMITOS did not begin in a studio or a company meeting. It began in our family. Behind its story are the two of us, Nina and Rastislav Bakala, and our daughters, Zoe and Tamia. Our younger daughter, Tamia, is seven, autistic and communicates mostly without speech. The entire world of TAMITOS is named after her. What people may now recognise as a children's book, storybook characters, a series in development, a game or a fitness app began with a very personal question: how could we create a world where our daughter would be accepted and understood?

TAMITOS grew out of years of a life we could not have planned. There were difficult periods, a long search for support and moments that taught us to see the world differently. Our family experiences became a story for children. That story became books. The books inspired ideas for a game, an animated series, a safe digital platform and an app that aims to connect movement with helping others. Every new product has the same starting point: something we needed ourselves, something that was missing or something we wanted to help people understand.

A journey we could not have planned

When Tamia was born, we imagined an ordinary family life. Around two years later, she was diagnosed with autism. Our priorities, daily routines and expectations for the future changed. We began learning to understand her needs, her reactions, her sensitivity to different sensations and her ways of communicating. We experienced uncertainty and exhaustion, but also enormous joy at progress that other people might not even notice.

There was a period of acceptance, too. But it was never about accepting our daughter: we have always loved her as she is, with everything that makes her unique. What we had to accept was something else: the world is often not ready for children like Tami. Sometimes people treated her differently simply because she experiences the world differently. That is not fair. She should never feel ashamed of who she is or have to justify it. Those moments planted the first seeds of our need to change something.

We do not want to describe autism as nothing but beautiful individuality. It can involve very difficult experiences, and every family's reality is different. Equally, we do not want society to see only a diagnosis and forget the person. Autism is a spectrum, so no single story can represent every child. We are telling our own while trying to listen to other families and professionals.

Our daughters, where the whole story began.

Nina and Rastislav: two different lives, one shared mission

Nina is a mother first. She put her career on hold and stayed home with our children. Caring for the family, organising therapies, speaking with professionals and managing difficult situations took a great deal of time and energy. She wanted to move forward, but for a long time she could not see how to combine that with what our children needed. She did not know that the daughter she had stayed home for would inspire a project that brought her a new sense of purpose and hope. Today, Nina brings our family story into books, readings with children, conversations with parents and the daily work of building a community.

Rastislav grew up in sport. He spent many years playing professional football before an injury changed his career. Football taught him discipline, persistence and how to keep going when a plan falls apart. After the injury, he found a new path in IT and digital creation. He has worked in technology for around twelve years, founded the game studio QORPO and spent the past six years working intensively on games, digital products, communities and technology platforms.

With his team, he also worked on artificial intelligence projects and received grant support from Amazon Web Services, at a time before AI became an everyday word in every company. The games industry taught him how to create virtual worlds, build digital services, work with an international team and reach a global community. After Tamia's diagnosis, those skills took on a different meaning. It was no longer simply about building another product. The question became: what can we do with what we know to help our children and other families?

Today, we bring both perspectives to TAMITOS: Nina's lived experience as a mother and direct contact with families, and Rastislav's technology development, creative direction and product-building experience. We are not two separate faces of the project. TAMITOS is the result of our shared journey.

Nina and Rastislav at Mama roka (Mother of the Year), where Nina Bakalová was nominated.

The legacy of two sisters: Zoe and Tamia

Although TAMITOS carries Tami's name, it is a legacy of both our daughters. Zoe is Tamia's protector, her voice in some situations and perhaps the most natural ambassador a brand could wish for. She talks to her classmates and friends about autism simply, kindly and without prejudice. She is growing into an empathetic young person and may not realise how many people she helps to see differences more naturally.

The sisters' relationship is the foundation of the story. When Zoe was three, she began asking why her little sister communicated and reacted differently. How do you explain autism to a young child? Not through diagnostic criteria or technical definitions. You need a story, pictures, imagination and emotions. That was when we realised that we first needed to help children talk about things adults often make unnecessarily complicated.

Many ideas for books, scenes, characters and apps come from home. We draw inspiration from Tamia's behaviour, family videos, time together and conversations with Zoe. We also speak with psychologists, educators and parents so that we do not rely on our own experience alone. We are not suggesting that Tamia represents all autistic people. We want her story to open a door to understanding the whole spectrum.

It all comes back to our time together.

Looking for support: therapies, travel and difficult decisions

From Tamia's early years, we sought professionals and ways to support her development. We attended assessments, explored behavioural and sensory approaches, travelled for therapies and visited a specialist centre in Dubai. We tried many things, some more conventional, others experimental, including faecal microbiota transplantation and stem cell procedures. That journey took an enormous amount of time, money and emotional energy.

It is important to say that these experimental procedures do not have reliably established effectiveness as treatments for autism and can carry serious risks. We are not presenting them as recommendations to other families or as evidence that they work. They are part of our personal story of parents looking for possibilities and answers in uncertainty. Increasingly, we understand our role as supporting Tamia's communication, independence, wellbeing and quality of life, rather than changing who she is.

Over those years, we met many other parents. Some struggled to find available professionals, others with the cost of services or schools unable to meet their children's needs. We realised our experience was not unusual, and that support cannot simply mean expecting every family to solve everything from the beginning on its own.

A Tale of Understanding: it all began with a book

Our first answer to our own question was the book TAMITOS: Príbeh porozumenia, or A Tale of Understanding. We wanted a story for young children, roughly three to six, that could gently explain how two people might experience the same world differently. It follows two sisters on adventures in a fantasy world where they meet the Tamit creatures, who are connected with emotions and different ways of experiencing life. The older sister gradually understands the younger one better. It is an adventure about love, respect, worries, the bond between siblings and understanding.

The book was published in December 2025 by the TAMITOS civic association, with illustrations by Martina Masarovičová. It reached bookshops and families, who have shared lovely feedback. Our ambition is for the story to support shared reading in schools and nurseries, too. Nina visits children, reads to them and talks about how to respond when someone in the playground, classroom or at home behaves differently. Those meetings remind us that empathy can be discussed without fear or complicated words.

A trilogy is gradually taking shape. The first book, Príbeh porozumenia, introduces the world and the relationship between the sisters. The second, Príbeh výnimočnosti, opened for preorder in October 2026 and focuses on different strengths, interests and ways of perceiving the world. The planned third book, Príbeh prijatia, is intended to complete the trilogy. We do not want to create a one-off title, but stories that parents and children can return to.

The Tamit creatures: imagination that helps name emotions

In our world, each creature brings a different emotion, trait or perspective. Curio is curious. Cleverkin connects logic and analytical thinking. Touchet explores through touch and sensory experiences. Grumplet experiences strong emotions. Mellowlet sometimes needs quiet, and Sadlet reminds us of loneliness. Every character has strengths and vulnerabilities of their own.

These characters are not intended to represent medical categories or reduce autism to a handful of traits. They are storybook companions. They help children understand that one person may need quiet, another more space or a different way of communicating. We want children to love their personalities and stories, and to take greater sensitivity towards others away from those stories.

The animated series: our biggest creative challenge

As the characters and world of TAMITOS began to take shape, it felt natural to imagine them moving. The animated series is also the most ambitious and demanding production in our ecosystem. We want to create family animation with a beautiful visual language, entertaining stories and emotional depth. Rather than lecturing children about diagnoses, we want them to fall in love with the characters and gradually learn to understand one another better.

We are developing an original visual identity inspired by handmade stop-motion animation, with attention to textures, materials, light, artistic detail and the feeling of a real, tangible world. In the early stages, Robert Šveda, screenwriter Zuzana Ferenzová and producer Zuzana Hamidová helped us get the project started. Today, the project is being developed by Nina Bakalová and Rastislav Bakala together with international producer Nabil Kazi from Los Angeles. These experiences help us approach the project with international production standards in mind.

Our ambition is to prepare a pilot, followed by a series aimed primarily at school-age children. We want to speak with global distribution partners, including streaming platforms such as Netflix, but we are not announcing a distribution agreement. Authenticity matters to us. For example, Lumi, whose behaviour also draws on our experience with Tamia, will not have to look into the camera simply to meet familiar filmmaking expectations. Even small details can teach respect.

The video game: learning empathy through adventure

Games are a natural continuation of our experience. When children watch a film, they observe a story. When they play a game, they enter it. That is why we are developing a stylised 3D adventure that should be fun in its own right while bringing TAMITOS to a new generation of players.

Our goal is visual quality and playfulness inspired by games such as Astro Bot, Sackboy and Crash Bandicoot, while keeping our own identity. Every environment, character and situation can be an opportunity to show the value of cooperation, patience and different abilities. We do not want to insert a classroom lecture into a game. We want players to feel and discover things for themselves.

We use Unreal Engine and the experience of a game studio in development. Artificial intelligence helps with technical preparation, iteration, prototyping and optimisation. The authentic stories and artistic direction remain human.

TAMITOS Kids: a safe digital world

Another product in development is TAMITOS Kids, a safe digital environment for preschool children, both autistic and non-autistic. We want to offer games and interactive activities without advertising, violence or manipulative mechanics. Our design priorities include simple controls, understandable situations, parental settings and meaningful opportunities to explore and develop skills.

The platform is intended to bring the quality of modern children's games together with our characters and stories. We work with technologies such as Flutter and Unreal Engine and explore 2D, 2.5D and 3D experiences. The app should be a supportive, entertaining tool, not a replacement for clinical diagnosis or therapy. We want to develop it with feedback from parents, educators and professionals.

TAMITOS Move: movement, community and support

As we spoke more with other parents, the same problem kept coming up: limited access to support and high costs for therapies, equipment and other services. We wanted a model that would not depend entirely on one-off fundraisers. That led to TAMITOS Move, a fitness and community app that aims to connect a healthier lifestyle with real support.

The app allows people to record physical activities, track goals, join challenges, share achievements and encourage friends. We are developing integrations with fitness and health platforms, GPS tracking, community features and the TAMI points system. The Android version launched in September 2026, and we continue to develop the platform.

Our vision is for user activities to contribute to financial support for families through partners, campaigns and a rewards model. But it would not be true to say that every calorie burned automatically turns into money today. The economic mechanisms and their operating conditions are being built gradually. We want to be transparent, because trust matters as much as a good product in a charitable project.

Charity campaigns and the people behind the numbers

While the products are being developed, we try to provide help today. With partners, we organise campaigns, community activities, sporting challenges and fundraisers that highlight the needs of families with autistic children. Some of our campaigns have reached millions of people on social media. Behind that reach, however, are individual children and parents, who matter more to us than any numbers.

One example is a 24-hour running challenge in which runner Wolfy covered around 153 kilometres and almost €2,000 was raised for a boy with autism. Stories like this show us how community, movement and technology can create a real impact. Our ambition is to connect these activities gradually with TAMITOS Move, other products and transparent reporting of support.

Schools, educators and a safe place for families

TAMITOS is being created for two groups of people. First, families with autistic children. We want them to feel less alone and find community, understanding and, over time, practical tools. The second group is everyone else: people who do not know much about autism or have not encountered it. We want all of us to learn to listen, ask questions and respect others before judging them.

That is why working with children in schools and nurseries means so much to us. Nina visits to read stories and discuss why people do not all speak, react or feel in the same way. In our experience, this can help address misunderstanding and prejudice early. We are encouraged by interest from educators and professional communities, including support expressed by representatives of special education.

We also want to make information about schools, nurseries and therapies easier for parents to find. We are therefore developing conversations and initiatives with public institutions, including the education sector. These projects remain goals and possible areas of cooperation, rather than a completed nationwide information system.

Partners and international connections

Along the way, we have met businesses, organisations and individuals who believe in the idea. Across different activities, we have worked with or developed partnerships involving organisations such as Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa, Bratislava Airport, Zjedené, Coca-Cola Foundation Slovensko and HC Slovan Bratislava. Nina's materials also mention the Tipos foundation and other supporters. Every partnership has its own scope, so we do not want to present them all as the same kind of support.

Book and distribution partners, educators, families and our creative collaborators matter enormously, too. We are not trying to assemble the longest possible list of logos. We want relationships with concrete results: a book in a child's hands, an accessible activity, a family receiving support or another step towards professional production of the series.

Seven years of our story and the product timeline

Our story began with Tamia's birth and the early years that gradually shaped our need to look for new solutions. Around two years later came the diagnosis, followed by a long period of professional consultations, therapies, travel and experience of how support for families works, and often fails to work.

Zoe's questions and our conversations at home gradually grew into the first book. Príbeh porozumenia was published in December 2025. In 2026, the project expanded: we prepared Príbeh výnimočnosti, continued developing the game and TAMITOS Kids, launched the first version of TAMITOS Move, developed the animated series and organised community activities. During 2026, the individual products began forming a visible whole.

We see 2027 as a possible next production stage for the series pilot, digital products and entry into new languages and distribution settings. We have ambitious animation milestones planned for 2027 and 2028, but achieving them depends on financing, production and distribution agreements. This timeline is therefore not a set of guaranteed premieres. It describes a path we are gradually building.

Technology and AI: working efficiently without losing our humanity

Years in IT and game development gave us experience in software, 3D worlds, mobile apps and community platforms. Today, we bring those disciplines together. We use Unreal Engine for the game, Flutter among our mobile technologies, and GPS and activity-platform integrations for the fitness app. Technology is not the essence of TAMITOS, but it allows our story to take different forms.

Artificial intelligence plays a significant role. It helps with technical analysis, programming, testing, prototypes and more efficient development. It can help a small, experienced team achieve more with the same resources than before. That does not mean it replaces the people making the project. It cannot live Tamia's life, Nina's daily experience as a mother or our family story. We want to use AI as a tool, not a substitute for authenticity, visual identity or human decisions.

Financing, costs and the hardest decisions

Building a book brand, animation, a game and digital products together means connecting very different budgets and production processes. A book needs writers, illustrations, editing, printing and distribution. A game needs developers, 3D art, level design, testing and optimisation. An app requires stable software, security, operations and user support. The animated series is the largest challenge in scale.

The project represents thousands of hours of work and our own investment. Without closed financial records, however, we do not want to state a total cost as an established fact. In 2026, we communicated a need to secure approximately €1 million in additional financing for the next planned production phase of the series. We are therefore speaking with investors, funds, co-producers and partners. That figure is financing we are seeking, not a budget already secured.

Our goal is a sustainable model. Commercial products need to offer customers real value so the brand can operate over the long term. Social impact requires clear rules, transparent partnerships and measurable results. We do not want to build TAMITOS on promises about what it might achieve one day.

The creative team and the people behind TAMITOS

Our family story is the heart of TAMITOS, but today's products are created with the help of many people. Nina Bakalová and Rastislav Bakala are developing the project together with Nabil Kazi. Illustrator Martina Masarovičová creates the visual world of the books, and Hana Štancová is our ambassador. In the early stages, Robert Šveda, Zuzana Ferenzová and Zuzana Hamidová helped us get the project started, and we are grateful for their contribution. The technology draws on experience in game and app development. Feedback from parents, educators, professionals and people with lived experience of autism is also essential.

We want the characters, stories and visual language to remain consistent across books, the series, games and apps. It is equally important that we do not promise miraculous solutions when discussing autism or suggest that there is one universal experience. For us, quality means respect and responsibility as well as beautiful artwork.

The people behind the TAMITOS books.

Why TAMITOS could grow into a global story world

We look at brands such as Bluey, Peppa Pig and PAW Patrol, which have built lasting relationships with children and parents through stories and characters. Their achievements are not a promise of our own success. They show how a strong children's world can work across books, screens, toys, games and other products.

TAMITOS aims to bring that kind of creative strength together with a clear social purpose. A child might first meet our characters in a book, then in a series or game. A parent might discover us through the fitness app, a school reading or a community campaign. We want each encounter to offer something useful: joy, understanding, motivation or practical support.

We are proud that the project comes from Slovakia. Technology and international distribution allow even a small market to create a brand with global ambitions. But ambition is not the same as an achieved result. There is still a great deal of work ahead on content, financing, partnerships and the trust of our audience.

How we will measure support and real impact

If we say TAMITOS should help families, we want to demonstrate that through numbers over time. Campaign reach and app downloads are not enough. We need to track how many families receive support, the value of contributions, how they are used and the outcomes of individual activities. For apps, we also want to know whether people enjoy using them, safely and over the long term.

For books and educational products, we value feedback from teachers, parents and children. For TAMITOS Move, we want transparent rules to become a simple, trustworthy mechanism for funding support. For charity campaigns, we want to publish a clear result, rather than only a moving story. If TAMITOS is to become an international brand, that trust must be one of its foundations.

Why this matters

Autism affects a great many people and families. In its September 2025 update, the World Health Organization estimated that around one in 127 people worldwide was autistic in 2021. US CDC data from monitored communities identified around one in 31 eight-year-old children. These estimates are not directly comparable: they concern different populations and methods. Behind every number, however, is an individual life.

Autistic children are often pressured to learn to understand our world. We believe it is just as important that we learn to understand theirs. Inclusion starts with listening, not mocking someone for being different, and respecting their needs. Bullying and judgement often grow from misunderstanding. That is why we want to discuss autism in a welcoming, accessible, visual way without frightening people, while remaining honest about its difficult aspects.

The future: from stories to practical support

Beyond today's products, we are exploring other ways to help. We are interested in more accessible information about services, safe digital communication tools, specialist centres and the potential of technology to support development. These are directions and projects to investigate, not completed services. Health and diagnostic technologies require scientific validation and cooperation with qualified professionals.

Our ambition is for TAMITOS to become more than an entertainment brand: a place where families feel heard, can access understandable information and can participate in a community. That matters whether they have an autistic child or simply want to help raise a more empathetic generation.

Our daughter's name, which we hope will become a symbol of understanding

When we first searched for answers about Tamia's needs, we did not imagine an international animated series or a broad digital ecosystem. Above all, we wanted a better future for our daughter. Gradually, we understood that all children deserve that kind of future.

Tamia taught us to notice small steps forward. Zoe showed us how naturally a child can share empathy when given the chance to understand. Years of working with technology taught us that a strong idea can take a concrete form when people keep building it with persistence.

We cannot guarantee how large TAMITOS will become. But we know exactly why it began. We do not want to wait for the world to adapt to our daughter. We want to contribute to a world with more understanding, respect and opportunities for her and other children.

TAMITOS is our Tamia's name. It is the story of our two daughters, our family and the people joining us. We wanted to build a better future for our daughter. Today, we want to help build a better future for families around the world, with and without autism. And this story is only beginning.

Nina and Rastislav Bakala | Founders of TAMITOS and, above all, parents to Zoe and Tamia

Our story is only beginning.

Sources for data and health context

WHO: Autism, 17 September 2025 · CDC: Autism data and research · FDA: Stem cells and regenerative medicine · FDA: Faecal microbiota products