Smart speakers might help children with speech difficulties practice speaking slowly and clearly, new research by Cardiff University suggests.
The study, led by academics at the University's School of Psychology, found that off-the-shelf speakers were an enjoyable and feasible speech practice tool to complement formal therapy.
Focusing on 11 families with children with speech difficulties aged between 3 and 10 years old, the smart speakers were used on average once a day for between four and six weeks to access games, stories, music, jokes and podcasts. The researchers assessed the smart speaker's activity logs, conducted post-trial surveys for parents and children, undertook parent interviews, as well as evaluating device use and measuring changes in the clarity of children's speech over time.
The team found that parents reported that their child spoke more loudly and slowly to the smart speaker, and would repeat themselves for the devices, perhaps more than they would to people. Children's speech clarity also improved over the study, with increased improvements in the children who used their smart speakers more.
Dr Georgina Powell, who led the study, said: "A record number of children are experiencing speech difficulties, so we wanted to understand how caregivers could use smart speakers as a supplemental tool for children with speech difficulties while on waiting lists or between speech therapy sessions."
Nearly all parents in our study reported that their child spoke more loudly and slowly when talking to the smart speaker, and some parents also reported that their child was speaking more clearly as well.
"Most parents agreed that the smart speaker motivated their child to communicate more clearly. Over half agreed that the device encouraged their child to communicate. In the follow-up interview, one parent suggested that their child's speech had improved due to singing along with the smart speaker."
During the study, the smart speakers recorded a total of 2,138 commands, excluding wake words such as 'hey Siri' or 'hey Google', given by the children across 311 sessions. On average, children used the device for 6 commands once a day.
The main topics of interaction were games, jokes, and sounds (38%), asking for music, radio, stories or podcasts (10%), companion-like use (12%) and facts and information (7%).
Other findings from the team show that 64% of parents reported that their children initiated conversations with the smart speaker, while voice recordings of the children speaking were rated as more clear after using the devices.
Children were also more likely to repeat themselves, when giving commands to the smart speaker, with parents reporting that children were more willing to do this with the smart speaker than with a person.
Dr Powell said: "Smart speakers help remove social barriers, such as social anxiety or concerns of embarrassment when repeating phrases - this allows for self-motivated learning, which likely improves ability.
"Spaced-out practice, immediate feedback, and rewarding content are all other reasons why smart speakers could help encourage learning - but this is in support of, and not in replacement of, formal speech therapy."
Our study shows that technology that is already in many homes could be helping children with speech difficulties practice speaking more clearly, without social pressures.
"Further research in a larger study needs to be done to assess why and how much smart speakers are able to improve speech in children with speech difficulties, and to establish precisely how best to tailor their use in practice. Future studies are also needed to see if smart speakers are particularly beneficial within certain age groups or for specific types of speech difficulty."
Smart speakers are an acceptable and feasible speech practice tool for children with speech difficulties , was published in Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology.
