Technology helps Speech-Language Pathologist Progress over 100 year span

CHATTANOOGA, TN – May is known as National Speech-Language-Hearing Month to raise awareness for communication disorders and the role of professionals that work with them.

Speech pathology has a history that dates back to 1920.  It would start gaining traction when the American Academy of Speech Correction was formed in 1926. Like all things it developed and changed over the next 20 years but as soldiers were returning from the second world war with brain injuries, speech pathologists began to take on new and wider roles. Now they work with patients that have had neurological disorders, strokes, seizures, cancer and brain injuries or trauma.

According to Daye Click of Encompass health, a speech pathologist works with people on everything from the neck up. “We work on our swallow, we work on our voice, we work on if we have slurred speech, we work on our language we work on cognition so just a little bit of everything.” Says Click.

Obviously like all other medical professions, Technology has helped move Speech Pathology forward over the last one hundred years.  We’re able to do things now that we didn’t even know about in the roaring 20s.

“Technology has helped us make a lot of different gains. We have a communication board, so if someone has aphasia, trouble with language, trouble understanding, trouble getting those words out, mainly getting those words out. There’s different ways that we can use to help them communicate more efficiently” says Click.

Now we have iPads that can communicate, and even demonstrate or teach American Sign Language.

We’ve been marveling at the birth of AI but haven’t really stopped to wonder if it’s having a positive or negative impact on careers like speech pathology.  Generative AI can assist speech pathologists in creating personalized treatments such as stimuli, stories, activities and exercises but our expert doesn’t think it will replace her any time soon.

“I don’t think it’s going to take over. I definitely think it will be more prominent. Telehealth is more and more, is gaining more and more ground. Also the people in the very rural areas, it’s very hard to get speech therapy into those areas especially at home. Telehealth is going to really help those populations.”

For more information on finding a Speech Language Pathologist, you can visit Encompass Health, or The American Speech Language Hearing Association.