Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for decades but recent advancements in AI, called generative AI or GenAI, have enabled everyday users to create new content, such as text, images, music, videos, and more.
Now, speech language pathologists (SLPs) can use AI to personalize therapy sessions, save time, and provide innovative ways to engage clients. This blog explores practical ways speech therapists can use AI in various therapy settings, complete with example prompts.
The first step is to get an account with your favorite generative AI tool such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity.
From crafting auditory bombardment stories to generating comprehension questions and tongue twisters, AI-powered tools like ChatGPT can act as a virtual assistant for speech pathologists.
A word of caution with AI. It is critical that you never include any personally identifiable information in your GenAI prompts as this is no HIPAA or GDPR compliant. Never include name, date of birth, age, address, audio recordings (yes, voice recordings are PII), email or any other information that could together help identify the client.
Top tips:
- Always start your prompts stating what type of expert you want ChatGPT to be: an SLP? a famous children’s author? a historian, expert on medieval period?
- Be explicit about the output format : a table, a list, 3 paragraphs, 250 words, etc
- Being polite to ChatGPT oddly enough seems to provide much better responses. Say “please” and “thank you”.
For those in private practice, we have a some tips on how to manage your SLP private practice.
Create a list of multisyllabic words for speech therapy with AI
Need a quick and handy list of multisyllabic words? GenAI to the rescue! You can use the simple prompts to get specific lists of words created in seconds to use in your therapy session. Do try to use words that are common and meaningful to the child as they are most likely to carryover into conversational speech.
Step 1: Login to your favorite Generative AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, etc)
Step 2: Write a prompt with specific context: word form, number of syllables, themes.
Options:
- Word Forms: Noun, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
- Number of syllables: 2 syllables, 3 syllables, 4 syllables, 5 syllables
- Themes : Animals, Setting (Forest, Sea) , Season, etc
Example Prompts:
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Create a list of 20 2-syllable nouns related to sports theme.”
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Create a list of 30 action verbs with minimum of 3 syllables.”
Create minimal pairs or maximal pair lists with AI
Phonological contrastive therapy is critical for children with consistent phonological errors. Finding the right pairs on a specific theme to engage your client isn’t always easy.
This is where GenAI can help create these minimal pairs or maximal pairs lists on specific themes for you in a breeze. Do validate and double check any output provided by AI. AI can make errors.
Step 1: Login to your favourite Generative AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, etc)
Step 2: Write a prompt with specific context: pairs of sounds or phonological process
Example Prompts:
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Generate a list of 10 minimal pairs contrasting /t/ and /k/, suitable for a 6-year-old. Exclude blends.”
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Write 15 sentences using these minimal pairs: ‘tea’ and ‘key,’ ‘ten’ and ‘ken,’ ‘top’ and ‘cop.”
You could try to push as far as asking for “Create an image with a beach theme with objects that include 12 contrastive minimal pairs for final consonant deletion.” From our tests, the image that results from such a prompt isn’t very good nor does it always include the correct words. It is best in this case to use a 2-step process: 1) generate the list of minimal pairs based on a theme (check the list of pairs) 2) create the image on specific theme that includes the words list.
Create Auditory Bombardment Stories with AI
Auditory bombardment involves exposing clients to specific target sounds or phonemes in a concentrated and repetitive manner. AI can generate personalized auditory bombardment stories that are engaging and tailored to a client’s interests.
Step 1: Login to your favourite Generative AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, etc)
Step 2: Write a prompt with specific context: target sounds, target age, sounds
Example Prompt:
- “You are a famous children’s author known for their creative, funny and engaging stories. Write a 500-word auditory bombardment story with a space theme for a 6-year-old featuring the /s/ sound. The story needs include at least 30 words with the /s/ sound.”
- “You are a famous children’s author known for their creative, funny and engaging stories. Give me a reading passage that can be read in 5 minutes at 5th grade lexical level loaded with voiced /th/.”
Theme Ideas: Animals, Circus, Knights & Princesses, Dragons, Batman, Spiderman, Marvel, Ocean, etc
Create Comprehension Questions and Wh- Questions with AI
When trying to help individuals develop critical language and cognitive skills, such as understanding and processing information, reasoning, and problem-solving, it is always most effective when using themes that are interesting to your clients. AI can help you create personalised and engaging comprehension and Wh questions.
Step 1: Login to your favourite Generative AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, etc)
Step 2: Write a prompt with specific context:
- Target Age/Skill Level (e.g., preschool, elementary).
- Question Type (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).
- Topic/Context (e.g., animals, daily routines, a specific story).
- Language Complexity (e.g., simple sentences or multi-step reasoning).
- Goals (e.g., recall, reasoning, inference).
- Examples or Focus (optional) specific examples or areas to emphasize (e.g., inferencing or main idea).
Example Prompts:
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Write a short, 5-sentence story about a dog going to the park, then create five WH-questions (who, what, where, when, why) based on the story.”
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Design a comprehension exercise for a 7-year-old, using a story about a trip to the zoo, including three questions about sequencing.”
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Write a 300-word story on Sammy the snake, and create five comprehension questions and answers suitable for a 6-year-old. Include at least three Wh- questions.”
- “Write a true story about a football legend that includes multiple choice context clues and questions at the end.”
Create Sound Specific Speech Therapy Sentences with AI
Tongue twisters are a classic way to target articulation goals. Generative AI can create custom tongue twisters tailored to specific phonemes and specific themes.
We have generated some ready-made free speech therapy sentences if you want download ours and save some carbon for the planet. If you can’t find what you need from ours, you can use the prompts below.
Example Prompts (use IPA where possible to ensure correct target sound):
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Generate 10 tongue twisters with 3-5 short words for practicing the /sh/ sound in all positions.”
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Create 20 fun tongue twister for the /k/ sound in the initial position.”
- “You are a speech pathologist with 30 years of experience. Write five tongue twisters focusing on the /r/ sound. Make them progressively harder.”
Create Social Stories for Pragmatic Skills
Social stories help clients navigate social situations by providing clear examples of expected behaviours. AI can craft these stories quickly and personalize them for specific scenarios that a child may encounter in daily life and could practice.
Example Prompts:
- “Write a conversation script between two 8 years old children deciding what game to play, emphasizing turn-taking and polite requests.”
- “Describe a social scenario where a child interrupts a teacher and needs help learning how to wait for their turn to speak.”
- “Describe a social scenario where a child needs to go to the dentist and walk him through what will happen and discuss emotions.”
- “Generate a social story for [insert age or grade level] student targeting [insert skill].”
Pro tip: Customize the tone and complexity for individual clients.
Types of pragmatic skills you can include in the story:
- Functional Communication: Making Requests, Comments, Expressing Feelings.
- Nonverbal Communication: Eye Contact, Facial Expressions, Gestures, Body Language, Proxemics.
- Conversational Skills: Initiating Conversations, Turn-Taking, Maintaining Topics, Ending Conversations, Narrative and Storytelling Skills, Repairing Conversations (e.g., repeating or clarifying), Providing Relevant Details, Understanding Humor and Sarcasm.
- Social Understanding: Perspective-Taking, Social Cues, Theory of Mind, Empathy.
- Contextual Communication: Adapting Language (e.g., peer vs. adult), Code-Switching, Rules of Interaction, Problem-Solving and Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, Requesting Help, Refusing Politely, Compromising.
- Play and Group Interaction (For Children): Parallel and Cooperative Play, Joining Groups.
AI Prompts for Speech Pathologist Professional Development
You may want to refresh some concepts or encounter clients with which you need to review the latest research on effective therapy for selective mutism or childhood apraxia of speech. Here we recommend using tools that are specialized in summarizing research such as : Elicit or find research papers and their sources then point ChatGPT to these sources for a summary or Q&A session.
Generative AI is known for hallucinations and inventing sources, so it is essential to start with known sources and/or checking the sources cited.
Example Prompts:
- “Summarize recent research on effective interventions for stuttering/childhood apraxia of speech.”
- “Generate a list of research journal articles on stuttering”
- “Describe the principles of neuroplasticity in relation to speech therapy. Cite research references.”
- “Suggest relevant research or evidence-based practice techniques based on the specific goals / diagnosis.”
We hope this AI prompting guide for SLP will give you time back with your clients. Let us know if you have any feedback!
Additional Resources for AI for SLPs
One SLP has created a very advanced guide with ready-to-use advanced prompts specifically designed for SLPs, you can get it here: Boosting SLP Productivity with ChatGPT and Bard by J M | TPT
Rachel Barton, SPL, founder of Chatterbox Sussex is also running some online workshops, you can register here: AI WORKSHOPS | chatterboxsussex
If you prefer reading, “Maximizing Speech Therapy with Artificial Intelligence” by Digital SLP Innovations Publishing.
Lastly, there is an ASHA CEU by Northen Speech Services, Ethics And Artificial Intelligence In Speech-Language Pathology | ASHA CEUs
