Education, employment, social interactions, and even education are all affected by speech and language impairments. Around 7.7% have speech, language and swallowing disabilities in the U.S.; at least 25 percent have more than one. AI can assist these children in communicating, allowing them to achieve more success at school, with their social life, or even on the job. These are the five most important types of AI technology.
AI in Speech and Language – Screening Tools
As with many other medical disciplines, the best results are achieved when speech-language pathsology is applied as soon as possible. AI-based screening tools help teachers and parents recognize speech and language disorders sooner and with greater accuracy, leading to better treatment.
The newly-formed AI Institute for Exceptional Education has developed a screening tool that monitors students in class to identify early warning signals. This screener generates data summaries every week on the children’s facial expressions and gestures. It helps educators identify trends that they might otherwise miss. The tool is able to detect symptoms sooner because it analyses more footage than could be done by a human pathologist.
A similar tool can be used to help doctors conduct follow-up test and determine disorders with greater accuracy. When parents and pathologists are aware of the issues, they can adapt to suit the needs of the child.
AI in Speech and Language – Gamified Speech Therapy
AI, after diagnosing the student can assist children with speech therapy. Gamifying the process is an effective way to improve the effectiveness of AI.
TikTalk is a platform for AI-driven speech therapy that features video game lessons. This encourages kids to engage with the system more. Speech-language pathologists can customize the games in this app to focus on specific words or patterns of speech to suit different child’s needs. The AI in the app analyzes results as kids play these games so SLPs may adjust the program accordingly.
Children who dislike being away from their parents or find speech therapy boring may have difficulty with it. AI-powered gamified applications offer engaging solutions that kids can use anywhere.
AI in Speech – Adaptive Learning Tools
AI speech therapy can also adapt to the children’s performance and needs. As different children develop at different speeds, there isn’t a single-size-fits all solution when it comes to creating an effective speech-language curriculum. The use of machine learning to identify specific needs and tailor resources can be very helpful.
The AI programs can be used as apps to support SLPs or for the benefit of children. AI Institute for Exceptional Education AI screensers, which use machine-learning algorithms, can be used to track children’s needs in the classroom or at therapy. These algorithms then suggest individualized actions for every student. This helps SLPs to spot things they might have missed in their caseload.
This adaption ensures that speech therapy will be more effective. The same principle is used in Montessori classrooms to improve social and educational outcomes. This concept involves offering students specialized materials that are tailored to their unique interests and needs.
Augmented Alternative Communication Apps
AI is also able to help kids communicate better by assisting them in finding new methods of communication. The Augmented Alternative Communication (AAC), provides tools to help children communicate without using words. Kids don’t need to be able to use conventional speech in order to communicate their feelings and ideas.
Apps that convert text to speech are useful in many cases, but the basic ones still require kids to be able to pronounce words and know how to roughly spell them. AI-powered, more complex solutions offer users a library of words and phrases to get them started. These tools can help kids adapt their ideas and phrases to make better suggestions for more effective communication.
Some apps allow kids to select images and words from a screen to show to others in order to communicate without using language. No matter the details, research shows that AAC can have a positive impact on literacy when it can be adapted to changing needs and circumstances, something AI allows.
Speech Output Systems
AAC’s speech output system is a service which deserves particular recognition. The AI-powered technology translates inputs such as gestures, typing and thoughts into spoken language.
Assisto is a solution that uses finger mapping and motion sensors to determine what the user wants to type or say in real-time. This system then uses AI to translate these signals into texts, helping children with cerebral Palsy communicate verbally, without having to rely on traditional text-to speech systems.
Cognixion One detects the brainwaves of users and converts their thoughts to speech. Wearable devices’ machine-learning capabilities adapt to the unique communication style of each user to improve accuracy over time.
AI in Education Can Revolutionize Speech-Language Pathology
Many of the technologies that are available today are in their initial stages. However, they will become widely accessible as time goes on. AI technology could revolutionize the speech-language therapy field if these trends persist. AI cannot replace the human speech-language pathologist, but it can make things easier for them. It also helps parents, teachers and kids to get more done. These tools can be applied on a large scale, which could help level out the social and educational playing fields by eliminating communication barriers.