Kids with delayed speech often need the assistance of a professional speech language pathologist (SLP) to help them communicate best.

The words “speech language pathology” don’t normally prompt the thought of technology, but maybe they should. It’s becoming a fast reality that technology is becoming more and more prevalent in the field of Speech Language Pathology. When one normally thinks of speech therapy, what it is and what it offers, it seems like a strange fit at first. But after exploring all the benefits of integrating technology into speech therapy, it’s a wonder why no one thought of this sooner.

To begin with, let’s think of the place that technology holds in the world as we know it. It’s everywhere! It is a rare day that we go without using some sort of technological device. Our phones are practically surgically attached to our hands. Our laptops are as present as our shadows. In school, children are expected to know how to research topics on the Internet and hand in typed papers, at younger and younger ages. Technology is working its way into all aspects of our lives. New developments in medicine, breakthroughs in science, are all based on technology. It’s the trend of the future; everything is gravitating in that direction. It shouldn’t come as much of a shock that we are seeing technologies devoted to SLP beginning to emerge.

The truth of the matter is, kids nowadays are born into a technological world; learning to work an iPhone is becoming almost instinctual. Technology naturally grabs their attention and engages them. It is important to use this aspect of modern life in children’s benefits. Additionally, the kids receiving therapy will be growing up in a world where they will be expected to use technology on a daily basis. It isn’t a bad idea to expose them to what they will need to know how to use in the future.

The pandemic accelerated a trend that started earlier regarding online speech therapy sessions. While before the coronavirus crisis, the norm for speech therapy sessions was in-person sessions, lately more and more kids and parents discover the benefits of online speech therapy.

Then there are the speech therapy apps; they are made for the kids, but the settings were structured for the adults. These app settings are advanced enough to let you add patient profiles into the app, complete with information such as what they are working on presently. Parents can also learn additional things via apps and can be more involved this way. They can even practice for the tests occupational therapists take via some apps.

And then there is of course Youtube. There are so many good resources on Youtube that therapists, parents and kids can all use alike. Apart from the professional resources for therapists, Youtube is filled with videos of nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty that can be used for kids with speech difficulties to practice. Singing repetitive songs is a way for kids to improve on their language skills.

Are there any drawbacks, you ask? As is the fear with all technology, it may lead to a slight tuning out of the real world if not managed properly. At the end of the day, as wonderful and helpful as technology can be, it is simply a machine. It is important to remember that the ultimate goal of speech therapy is communication. And communication involves social interaction. The kids need to be reminded that they need to talk to other people. All of these technologies are incredible to use as tools, but as tools only. It is important to stress to the children that it isn’t enough to play with an iPad, but to remember what they worked on using the iPad and apply that in real-life, with real people.