How to Use AI for Speech Therapy
Two years ago, my friend Sunshine (yes, that’s her real name) showed me an email template she wrote for her school job. It was professional and well-written, and she composed it in a matter of minutes,. Needless to say, I was impressed with the quality. When I asked her how she did it so quickly, she smirked as she showed me the prompt box for ChatGPT.
Since then, I have used AI for speech therapy as a tool to improve and enhance my practices, especially to generate ideas and therapy materials that would otherwise consume an inordinate amount of time. So let’s get into it by defining AI and how it impacts our daily lives, discussing ChatGPT’s impact on speech therapy, considerations for the use of ChatGPT, guidelines for writing prompts, and finally how to use AI for speech therapy.
What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that can learn, reason, solve problems, and understand human language. Currently, These programs require human input and feedback to perform most tasks effectively and is limited to specific tasks. A significant part of AI is machine learning, where computers use data to improve their performance over time.
Although AI seems like a new technology because of ChatGPT, it has actually been around for many years and is part of our daily lives. Common examples of AI we use daily include:
Alexa (Amazon)
Siri (Apple)
The YouTube algorithm
Google search engine (BERT)
Google Translate (BERT)
Tesla Autopilot
Watson (IBM)
This technology continues to evolve and has transformed many industries, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, customer service, entertainment and self-driving cars. The creation of advanced technologies and programs (such as ChatGPT) has made AI more common in the workforce. Although some professionals advocate for limited use of AI, this technology will only become more prevalent with time. Since ChatGPT can assist with language practice, live feedback, and tailored educational content, you might wonder: will AI replace speech therapy?
Will AI Replace Speech Therapy?
Fortunately, the answer is a clear no. While ChatGPT is a powerful and versatile tool, it has several limitations.
Background Knowledge
Programs like ChatGPT don't have the detailed background knowledge to develop meaningful treatment materials for children. In contrast, a speech therapist considers a child’s medical history, personal experiences, effective cues and prompts, and family preferences. These factors help create the best care plan for treatment.
Dynamic Therapy and Practical Implementation
Many speech therapy techniques need physical interaction, like guiding children through exercises which involve muscle movements or using subtle cues to support independence (like silently mouthing part of an answer, pointing, or tapping a shoulder as a reminder to use a technique or strategy). Speech therapy often requires visual, tactile and auditory feedback that AI cannot provide. Additionally, speech therapists adapt their approach in real-time based on cues from kids, such as words, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Since ChatGPT is text-based, it can’t understand these cues.
Contextual Knowledge
Without the detailed understanding of speech and language skills of a speech therapist, programs like ChatGPT might not give exactly what children need to grow these skills. For example, if a therapist asks AI to create 10 sentences using the word “crucial,” the results might be too complex or include unfamiliar words. A speech therapist can craft appropriate content to meet a child’s specific needs.
Human Interaction
Speech therapists provide quality face-to-face interaction to support child development: although this is not specific to speech therapists, it’s crucial for language development. Children learn best from interacting with people. At this time, it’s difficult to imagine an AI capturing all of the nuance of human interaction.
Considerations for Using AI for Speech Therapy
While ChatGPT may seem like a miracle worker, it has significant limitations that are important to consider when using it to create tools or ideas for speech therapy.
ChatGPT won’t always give you what you want the first time. Prompts may be unclear or the program may simply misunderstand what you need. Be patient and try to re-word your prompt a few times. If that doesn’t work, you should take the best version of what it gives you and adjust it based on your knowledge. Customization is key.
You are the expert. Whether you are a speech therapist or tech-savvy parent, you know what’s best for the child you work with.
Be mindful of data privacy. While ChatGPT does not usually keep information from chats, it may retain some data to improve the program. Avoid sharing any private health information to maintain privacy.
Proofread anything ChatGPT generates. While ChatGPT provides high-quality content, sometimes it can be incorrect or inappropriate.
Crafting Effective Prompts in ChatGPT
To achieve quicker success when using AI for speech therapy materials and ideas, consider the following factors when writing a prompt.
Length
Specifying the length of a response for text or an exercise will greatly influence what the program provides (e.g., write a 200-word story for a third grader).
Difficulty
You can adjust the difficulty by stating the age level, grade level, type of vocabulary or sentence type (e.g., modify this sentence to be appropriate for a 7-year-old).
The target
Strike a balance to find the right amount of specificity. Vague or overly specific prompts can both lead to poor results from ChatGPT (e.g., create a set of sentences that can be combined using subordinating conjunctions).
Details
Providing background about why or how you want materials a certain way gives the program context to work with. In turn, this will lead to a better quality response from ChatGPT (e.g., write a 200-word paragraph about Mary Anning for an 8-year-old, using simple sentences and defining difficult words).
Examples
Give ChatGPT examples of what you are looking for helps the program understand your prompt (e.g., write something like this sentence: ‘The dog caught the ball’).
Creating Material with AI for Speech Therapy
I have learned a lot about how to use AI for speech therapy. While there are many reasons a speech therapist or parent may benefit from using AI, this section will focus on ways you can use ChatGPT to create speech therapy materials. Each example will include a prompt you can use in ChatGPT.
Direct vocabulary instruction
ChatGPT can generate age-appropriate word definitions, antonyms, synonyms, example sentences, and situations where the word is used. This helps children near new words in a meaningful way. For example:
Prompt: Generate a developmentally appropriate word definition for the word "custom" for a 10-year-old. Provide an antonym, synonyms and five sentences using the word "custom". Create a scenario that taps into a kid's background knowledge for using this word in a meaningful way.
Modifying text length, grammar and vocabulary
ChatGPT can change a text to use simpler or more complex language. You can shorten a text, turn complex sentences into simple ones, explain unfamiliar words or add simpler ones. Here are two examples:
Example 1:
Prompt: Modify this sentence to be appropriate for a 7-year-old. “Engineering encompasses the innovative application of scientific principles to design, construct, and maintain structures, systems, and devices, enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and functionality in diverse fields.”
Example 2:
Prompt: Rewrite this for a 10-year-old. Break down complex sentences into simple sentences. Define unfamiliar words for a 10-year-old. Try to avoid increasing the length.
“Condensation is the process where gas transforms into a liquid when it cools down. Water vapor in the air condenses into liquid droplets when it meets cooler surfaces. Common examples include morning dew on grass, foggy bathroom mirrors after a hot shower, and water droplets on a cold beverage glass. Condensation is essential in the water cycle, forming clouds that release precipitation. Factors like temperature, humidity, and surface conditions influence condensation. Understanding this process helps explain weather patterns and the continuous movement of water on Earth, highlighting the natural cycle's interconnectedness.”
Grammar Exercises
ChatGPT can create various sentence types, including those with subordinating (because, when, if) and coordinating (and; but; or) conjunctions, prepositional phrases (in, at, under) and question sentences (where, what). You can ask the program to break down complex sentences into simple ones to practice sentence combining or to answer open-ended questions. For example:
Example 1:
Prompt: Create three sets of sentences that can be combined with three different subordinating conjunctions. Provide a list of conjunctions to choose from. Make these sentences suitable for a 10-year-old.
Example 2:
Prompt: Create three sentences and a question per sentence. This is for a child who has difficulty answering open-ended questions.
Narrative Creation
Retelling what we understand from a book is an important part of reading. It’s the fundamental reason why we learn how to read! We can use ChatGPT to generate stories which focus on specific elements, like characters, actions, and settings.
Prompt: Write a story for a third grader, about 250 words long. The setting is space, and the main problem is getting lost. Include characters (with names), settings (times and places), a main problem/event, character feelings, actions, and a resolution to the problem.
Informational Text Creation
Informational text covers topics like science, social studies, and other subjects. It slowly becomes the main content children learn from in school. It’s important for all children to have exposure to this type of text, even if it’s at a simpler level. Instead of writing these texts from scratch, ChatGPT can provide a rough outline that is more suitable for children with language challenges.
Prompt: Write a 200-word paragraph about Mary Anning for an 8-year-old. Use simple sentences and define any difficult words. This is for a child with a language disorder.
Theme Generation
Themes are powerful tools for working on language skills, especially for preschoolers. ChatGPT can compile themes and word lists for language therapy.
Prompt: Create a theme for a preschooler and list common nouns, adjectives, and verbs for language therapy. Give me some ideas for activities or objects I could use as props.
Seek Expert Help
While AI tools like ChatGPT can assist in creating quality educational materials, they are only as effective as the person using them. This supports the idea that only a speech therapist can provide personalized assessments, expert strategies, and hands-on therapy to foster a child’s speech and language growth. Contact us today for a consultation or to schedule an assessment or therapy session. Together, we can help your child unlock their full potential.
