Social Media and AI for Speech Pathologists vs Reality
- Splash Supervision
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
When messy is OK
Let’s be honest—if you’ve spent more than 5 minutes on speech pathology Instagram, you’d think every session involves a calm child sitting at a table, a perfect activity and improvements every session.
And then there’s Billy.
Billy is 4 years old. He’s the third of four kids, with an 8-month-old baby at home. He’s busy, constantly on the move, chooses not to follow simple instructions and using mostly two-word utterances. He’s on the NDIS, no formal diagnosis, but mum (Kayla) suspects autism. You’re not convinced - you see a child who would benefit from consistent boundaries and structure. His older brother has autism an intellectual disability. Mum is exhausted, her partner is rarely home, and she’s already done “all this therapy stuff before.” She disengaged in sessions, not following up at home, and just wants him “talking more before school.”
This is the work. We hear about plenty of children like Billy. Not the neat single disability child and certainly not the family with the capacity to follow through on every recommendation.
Reframing success: from ideal to achievable
If we zoom out, Kayla is:
Likely overwhelmed (4 kids, minimal support)
Possibly experiencing low mood
Carrying previous therapy fatigue
Managing expectations for her older child’s diagnosis
Prioritising survival, not one therapists recommendations for one of her children
This is where we need to shift from best practice to doable practice.
Instead of asking:
“What should therapy look like?”
Ask:
“What are the smallest changes that could still make a difference?”
For Billy, that needs to be language in routines that already exist.
Getting dressed
Getting in the car
Mealtimes
The park
Bathtime
Bedtime routine.
Shift the Focus
Rather than focus on Billy, focus on Kayla. What does Kayla need to get done this week? For example:
Hanging out the washing
My all time favourite language activity! Children love to help and the language opportunities are endless:
Following instructions: “Can you pass Mum’s shirt and Billy’s sock?”
Carrier phrase: “I’m hanging the……”
Vocabulary: sizes, concepts (wet/dry etc), colour, pattern
Washing the car
Following instructions: “Get the big sponge and wash the wheel”
Vocabulary: talking about parts of a whole is a well known way to learn words (wheel, door, boot) and actions (wash, rinse, scrub).
Cooking
An old favourite made all the more fun now with the kiddicutter. Kids can join in with cutting (the best part). Pick your goal! Vocabulary, following instructions, taking turns.
Following Instructions: “Stir it and give me the spoon”
Vocabulary: most word classes can be targeted: warm, mix, crack
Kayla could focus on using expansions and modelleing during everyday tasks and recast (rather than correct).
* If she has more capacity (like when the baby is asleep) she can take photos of these routines.You can use the photos to make a simple book that target your language goals - most children are far more interested in a book starring themselves than anything off the shelf!!
** Consider some telepractice sessions - no travel, real life and research shows that telepractice helps to build parent capacity.
AI for Speech Pathologists: prompts you can use this week
Paediatric clinicians
“Give me 3 ultra-simple language strategies for a busy 4-year-old using two-word utterances that a parent can implement during daily routines (no extra time, no sitting at a table).”
“Rewrite this goal into something achievable for an overwhelmed parent with multiple children: ‘Billy will use 3–4 word sentences during structured play tasks.’”
Adult clinicians
“Give me 3 functional communication strategies for an adult with cognitive-communication difficulties that can be embedded into everyday tasks like cooking, shopping, or cleaning.”
“Turn this impairment-based goal into a participation-based goal for a client with aphasia who lives in a busy household with limited support.”
Quick AI Tips for Speech Pathologists (what’s changed recently)
Be specific about constraints. For example “no prep,” “no parent time,” “busy household” = better outputs
Use follow-ups. “Make this simpler,” “cut this in half,” “make this sound like a tired parent could do it”
Give context first. AI is better when you describe the real scenario (like Billy)
What is happening in AI for Speech Pathologists?
Here's what's happening in AI for Speech Pathologists currently.
Something Helpful for Speech Pathology
AI Assistant for Seniors
Sam AI for Seniors supports older adults through simple, natural conversations and helping with:
reminders like taking medications
texts and calls (without the demands of using a smart phone)
For speech pathologists, it has the potential to support functional communication, prompting word retrieval and reinforcing safe swallowing routine particularly for clients with cognitive-communication or swallowing difficulties.
AI Tips for Allied Health Businesses
AI Personal Assistants
AI assistants will probably be standard for everyone in the future! AI that organises your day, schedules appointments and prepares you for meetings like LindyAI and Workmate. It is worth having a look at what they can do!
The takeaway
Your job is not to deliver perfect therapy. It’s to design therapy that will actually happen. The best strategy in the world is useless if it doesn’t fit the family.
If this resonated, it’s probably because you’ve worked with a “Billy.” And if you have—you are probably doing better work than you think!
Until next time,
Megan
from
Speech Pathology Leaning and Supervision Hub - SPLASH
If this saved you even 5 minutes, forward it to a fellow speech pathologist who’d love to make working life easier
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