Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) are increasingly regarded as promising tools for schools of speech-language pathology providing interactive assistance to children with communication disorders. The present paper explores the implementation of SAR4SLPs (Socially Assistive Robots for Speech-Language Pathologists) to investigate aspects such as engagement, therapeutic strategy discipline, and consistent intervention support. The current application of SAR technology in clinical and educational settings is assessed, especially concerning the use SLPs can make of these robots in their therapeutic work. An asynchronous remote community (ARC) collaborates with a cohort of practicing SLPs to determine effectiveness, feasibility, and challenges with implementing SARs into day-to-day interventions and as practice facilitators. The collaborative design and iterative development of SARs for specific treatment goals in SLP therapy interventions are highlighted in the paper

AI Institute for Transforming Education for Children with Speech and Language Processing Challenges, National Science Foundation PI: Venugopal Govindaraju, co-PI: David Feil-Seifer, Amount: $20,000,000, Jan. 15, 2023 - Dec. 31, 2027