A New Interactive Paradigm for Speech Therapy

Speech disorders and impairments are multiple dysfunctions that affect an individual’s linguistic abilities, frequently occurring during childhood. More specifically, speech therapy involves the administration of treatments to patients that are defined based on the diverse causes and severity of language impairments; they consist of sets of exercises. The traditional process is limiting for professionals because it does not allow them to monitor the patients outside the on-site appointments in medical office. Nevertheless, the employment of technology can improve its efficiency and enable remote assistance. In addition, embedding gamification elements is key to make medical treatment more pleasurable and similar to common daily task for young patients. These types of technology are not always effective or accessible for individuals with speech impairments. Consequently, this work explores potential solutions to the limitations and challenges deriving from the analysis of two systems, e-SpeechT and Therapy Assistant; respectively, a web-application and a smart voice assistant skill.