A Protocol to Assess Usability and Feasibility of e-SpeechT, a Web-based System Supporting Speech Therapies

Speech disorders and impairments are a heterogeneous group of dysfunctions that concern linguistic abilities and, in the majority of cases, they affect people during their childhood from 4 to 6 years old. Appropriate treatment should be defined for each patient according to their problems, which can be physical, such as muscle weakness, brain damage, vocal cord damage, or paralysis, and psychological, such as autism, PTSD or Down Syndrome. Therefore, considering these aspects, this research work aims at supporting patients in carrying out therapies to solve speech impairments through gamification, game-based learning, e-health, and telemedicine. A web-based system is proposed to achieve the goals by supporting all stakeholders involved in speech therapy. The design and plan of a usability and a longitudinal study have been presented, with the goal of testing the system’s usability and medical efficacy by involving real end-users and domain experts.