Where Does AI Fit Into Speech Therapy?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is attracting more buzz in the healthcare service sector, which often leads to misunderstanding and misconceptions. This post aims to touch on some of the common myths around AI in Speech Language Therapy and explores how AI can be beneficial when providing Speech Language Therapy services to clients. 

So, what is AI? AI often involves algorithms, computer programs and systems which enable machines to do tasks which usually / previously required human intelligence. This may include explaining concepts, drawing comparisons, creating and generating content, translating language, and so forth. Since AI mainly delivers outcomes in some form of language (written, symbolic, spoken, etc.), it can be particularly useful for Speech Language Therapy services. 

Here are some of the common misconceptions about AI and Speech Therapy:
Myth #1 - Your child no longer needs to see a Speech Therapist, which can be replaced with AI instead.
Myth #2 - AI can do the same functions of a Speech Therapist.
Myth #3 - AI can do the job of a Speech Therapist better and with more accuracy. 

It is important to emphasize that the above myths are factually not true. While AI is developing at a speedy and impressive rate, it does have several limitations. One of the main limitations is that AI cannot replicate or replace human critical thinking, collegial and multi-disciplinary collaboration and fact-checking. 

In saying this, AI can be used to supplement current Speech Therapy service delivery. It is already showing to be extremely useful in this regard, including with the below and beyond:

• formulating individualized stories for clients, involving their interests, preferences or imaginative characters
• making comparisons in grammatical rules between 2 languages 
• translating messages or videos from one language to another
• generating lists of words with specific sounds in certain word positions for clients to practice

The key take away here is that AI can be an incredibly powerful tool for further enhancing current Speech Language Therapy service delivery. However, it is not without limitations. It is critical for Speech Therapists who use AI to continue to apply their critical thinking skills, to do ongoing training related to AI, continue to collaborate with peers, seek multi-disciplinary consultation and to fact-check. Speech language Therapists can also seek feedback from each other and from their clients, to give to AI developers on how their products can improve to better serve client populations. 

AI in Speech Therapy is a topic with growing popularity and questions. There will be more posts to come on this topic shortly. 

Speak Soon,
The Expat Speechie