AI Speech Therapist Helps Thousands of Children Practice at Home Every Day

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One in twelve children in the U.S. has a speech or language disorder. The standard treatment is speech-language therapy, but the gap between what therapy provides and what a child needs is enormous. Little Words, an AI-powered speech practice companion, is designed to fill that gap by providing daily, play-based exercises that adapt to each child's progress, prioritizing privacy, and requiring no accounts or data storage.

Why it matters

Speech and language delays can have significant impacts on a child's development and quality of life. However, access to speech therapy is limited, with long waitlists in many areas. Little Words aims to provide an accessible, effective solution to help children practice speech skills at home and accelerate their progress, even when clinical therapy is not immediately available.

The details

Little Words was created by Will, whose daughter was on a 4-month waitlist for speech therapy. During that time, he tried various methods to help her practice, but nothing worked as well as an actual therapist. So he built Little Words, an AI-powered speech practice companion designed with licensed speech-language pathologists. The AI is focused on patience, repeating exercises and sounds as many times as needed without frustration. The exercises are play-based and adapt to each child's progress in real-time.

• Will's daughter was 2.5 years old and had fewer than 20 words when she was referred for speech therapy.
• The waitlist for a speech-language pathologist was 4 months.

What’s next

Little Words is available for free at LittleWords.ai and is increasingly being used by speech-language pathologists as a recommended home practice tool for their patients.