4 Ways to use ChatGPT as an EI SLP

Have you heard of ChatGPT? – it’s the AI (artificial intelligence) chat bot that has taken the world by storm. ChatGPT is set to revolutionise many fields. I was curious, as you might be as to how ChatGPT might impact Speech Therapy delivery, and how we can use ChatGPT to our advantage as EI SLPs. So in this post, I’m sharing all about ChatGPT and 4 ways to use ChatGPT as an EI SLP.

What is ChatGPT?

In case you’re unsure what ChatGPT is, I asked ChatGPT to describe itself:
ChatGPT is a highly advanced and sophisticated language model developed by OpenAI. It’s a state-of-the-art natural language processing system that has been trained on vast amounts of text data to generate human-like responses to a wide range of queries. Whether you’re looking for information, want to have a conversation, or need help with a task, ChatGPT is designed to provide accurate, relevant, and engaging answers in real-time. With its deep understanding of language and context, ChatGPT represents a major breakthrough in the field of AI and has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with technology.

While it might sound like it’s overstating it’s abilities, it is fair to say that ChatGPT is very clever, and we can definitely use it in our daily practice. Here’s 4 ways to use ChatGPT as an EI SLP.

1- You can use ChatGPT for generating lists of stimulus words

If ChatGPT and the like (there are other AI chat bots available) have one advantage at the moment, it’s their ability to save you time searching a search engine. Instead of searching through multiple sites via Google to find a list of stimulus words, you can just ask “Provide me a list of 5 simple CVC words starting with S” and it will generate a list for you. I actually asked this question to show you the response and got the following:

Sure! Here are five simple CVC words starting with the letter “s”:

1. sip
2. sad
3. sat
4. sin
5. six

While these words might not be quite the right words I need for a session, ChatGPT completed this task in under 10 seconds, saving me precious time, and I can just switch out the words I don’t like with something else.
I think this is a great way to use ChatGPT as an EI SLP. You can use ChatGPT to generate lists of verbs, animal names, vehicles, anything you need. Which is perfect if your mind goes blank when you’re trying to come up with lists of target words!

2- Use ChatGPT for writing referral letters

Here’s a time consuming task that can be handed over to a chatbot. Let’s say hypothetically, that you want to write a letter to an ENT surgeon refering a child for potential mouth breathing. This is a great way to use ChatGPT as an EI SLP, because you can ask it to generate a letter for you! I did just that and the following letter was completed in under a minute:

Dear [ENT Surgeon’s Name],
I am writing to refer [Child’s Name], a patient under my care, to your clinic for evaluation and management of their mouth breathing issue.
[Child’s Name] is a [age] year old who has been under my care for speech and language therapy for [reason]. During our sessions, I have noticed that [he/she] has a persistent pattern of mouth breathing, which has affected [his/her] speech intelligibility and oral motor skills.
I believe a comprehensive evaluation by an ENT specialist is necessary to rule out any underlying medical causes and to determine the best course of treatment.

Please let me know if you require any additional information or if there is anything I can do to assist in this referral process. I would appreciate it if you could kindly inform me of your findings and any recommended management plans.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I am confident that with your expertise, [Child’s Name] will receive the highest quality of care.
Sincerely,
[Your Name], Speech Language Pathologist

Now, I know it isn’t perfect. You would likely want to change a couple of elements of the letter. But the majority of the work has been completed for you- saving you valuable admin time. And if you’re someone who struggles to get started with these types of task, ChatGPT does the bulk for you! (I think this is one of my favourite ways to use ChatGPT as an EI SLP).

3- A fun way to use ChatGPT- let it suggest new games to play

Another way you can use ChatGPT as an EI SLP is by asking it to provide games to play with your clients. List generation is somewhere where ChatGPT shines, and much like the previous generating lists, ChatGPT can cut your research time down to a minimum.
A list of five or ten games can be generated in a matter of seconds. You can then easily put these into a simple handout for caregivers to work on at home!
You could even ask it it write the list in a letter format and it would do that for you as well!

4- ChatGPT can help with Evidence Based Practice

One way to use ChatGPT as an EI SLP is to ask it to look for research related to a different skill, approach etc. It can do this within seconds, and write you a summary of the research in question, plus any limitations. It’s something that often falls through the cracks in our practice as it’s so time consuming, and can be difficult to wade through academic language. But the task can be easily delegated to ChatGPT!
I asked it to give me a study that backs up the use of parent modelling in early intervention for toddlers with language delays. Here’s the response I got:

Certainly! Here’s a study that supports the use of parent modelling in early intervention for toddlers with language delays:
Title: Parent-implemented language intervention for children with developmental delay: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Roberts, M. Y., & Kaiser, A. P.
Published in: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (2011)
It then went on to give me a summary of the study, its findings, and what extra info it adds to our field. It then gave me the full reference, so I can cross-reference this study and read it for myself (Though there’s no need in this case, since I’ve read this study before and love the work Dr Roberts and her team do!).

Now, bear in mind, I asked it a biased question, so it gave me a study that supported what I was looking for. This is important to remember when using ChatGPT for research. Once it has found you a study, you need to read the study yourself, don’t solely rely on the info ChatGPT has given you! Which leads us on to…

Disadvantages to using ChatGPT

As with most things, there are some downsides to chatbots.
The first is ChatGPT was trained on a lot of text, across a lot of subjects, but not all text in the world. This means that it can be biased towards the things it was trained on, and ignorant of the things it wasn’t. Likewise, if you ask it a biased question, it will likely give you a biased response. So it’s vital that you double check things like studies and references, to make sure they haven’t been disproved/changed. And that you think carefully about your wording when you’re asking it to find something.

Similarly, ChatGPT doesn’t know about things that happened after 2021, due to the date it was trained. As such, it might be ignorant of the latest developments in a subject area.
Finally, and this one is crucial, the information provided can sometimes be incorrect or unhelpful. ChatGPT is good, but it isn’t perfect. It makes mistakes and it can misinterpret what you’ve asked. But it will learn if you give it feedback and ask it to try again.

So should we use ChatGPT as an EI SLP?

At the risk of labouring the point, ChatGPT’s main advantage (at the time of writing this blogpost), is it’s ability to do the time consuming tasks for us. It can be incredibly helpful for those times when your mind goes blank, or you’re not sure how to word something. Although the end product may not be perfect, it has done the majority so all you need to do is tweak it. I can definitely see ChatGPT becoming more widely used, and can see the advantages of using it as an EI therapist, particularly for those admin-style tasks.

I’d love to know, have you used it yet? What has your experience been? Let me know in the comments!

Curious about giving it a try? Click here to try it out now. (Note- There’s a free option and a paid version. I’ve only ever used the free version. It does everything I need it to).

P.s. This post is not an ad. I am not affiliated with ChatGPT or its creators in any way.