Peeking Under the Hood: How Are Speech-Language Pathologists Really Using AI?
Is AI a helpful co-pilot for school-based practitioners, or is it a disruptive force we should handle with caution? The conversation is everywhere, but it’s often fueled by speculation rather than solid data.
As a practitioner who is deeply invested in the intersection of technology and education, I wanted to move beyond the hypotheticals. That's why, from April 25th to May 30th, 2025, I conducted a survey of 227 Speech-Language Pathologists across Ohio to find out what’s really happening in the field. I personally collected and analyzed the data, and the results were so compelling that I built an interactive dashboard to share them.
The full dataset is worth exploring, but here are a few highlights that stood out to me:
1. AI is More Than a Novelty—It's a Go-To Tool for Core Tasks
This isn't just about generating emails. A significant number of SLPs are already integrating AI into their clinical workflow. In fact, for AI users, the top two applications were generating treatment goals (44.4%) and answering work-related questions (42.0%). This suggests a move toward using AI as a genuine clinical support tool. The best part? Users report that it saves them an average of 2.1 hours per week!
2. The Great Training Divide
While nearly half of practitioners (47.1%) have learned about AI from colleagues, there’s a massive appetite for more structured professional development. An overwhelming 78.4% of SLPs desire webinar or online training, and 52.9% want in-person training. This gap between current "on-the-fly" learning and the desire for formal education is a critical area for our field to address.
3. The Disclosure Dilemma: What We Say vs. What We Do
Ethics is a major concern, and nowhere is that clearer than with disclosure. While over a third of all participants believe practitioners should always disclose their use of AI to stakeholders, the reality is quite different. Among AI users, 77% admit to never obtaining informed consent, 40.7% admit to never disclosing their use, and only 9.2% always disclose. This gap highlights a significant area of ethical ambiguity and inconsistency in our current practices.
Explore the Data Yourself!
These highlights are just the tip of the iceberg. To truly understand the nuances of AI adoption among SLPs in Ohio, I invite you to dive into the data yourself.
I’ve created a full, interactive dashboard where you can explore every chart and table from this study. Click through the tabs, hover over the data points, and see what insights you can uncover.
Click Here to View the Interactive AI Adoption Dashboard
Let's continue this conversation with data in hand. What findings surprise you the most?