Is there any room for ChatGPT AI bot in speech-language pathology?

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigates the potential of the ChatGPT-4.0 artificial intelligence bot to assist speech-language pathologists (SLPs) by assessing its accuracy, comprehensiveness, and relevance in various tasks related to speech, language, and swallowing disorders.

Method: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 15 practicing SLPs evaluated ChatGPT-4.0's responses to task-specific queries across six core areas: report writing, assessment material generation, clinical decision support, therapy stimulus generation, therapy planning, and client/family training material generation. English prompts were created in seven areas: speech sound disorders, motor speech disorders, aphasia, stuttering, childhood language disorders, voice disorders, and swallowing disorders. These prompts were entered into ChatGPT-4.0, and its responses were evaluated. Using a three-point Likert-type scale, participants rated each response for accuracy, relevance, and comprehensiveness based on clinical expectations and their professional judgment.

Results: The study revealed that ChatGPT-4.0 performed with predominantly high accuracy, comprehensiveness, and relevance in tasks related to speech and language disorders. High accuracy, comprehensiveness, and relevance levels were observed in report writing, clinical decision support, and creating education material. However, tasks such as creating therapy stimuli and therapy planning showed more variation with medium and high accuracy levels.

Conclusions: ChatGPT-4.0 shows promise in assisting SLPs with various professional tasks, particularly report writing, clinical decision support, and education material creation. However, further research is needed to address its limitations in therapy stimulus generation and therapy planning to improve its usability in clinical practice. Integrating AI technologies such as ChatGPT could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of therapeutic processes in speech-language pathology.