Talking to Teo: Video game supported speech therapy

Children with hearing loss diagnosed before they are 2. years old are capable of developing abilities that range from elementary production such as single sounds, or vowels, to those which are more complex, such as spontaneous production of meaningful words and phrases, assuming that they have been treated correctly and opportunely. Speech production skills depend on language and auditory input, and therapy is usually guided by a therapist in personalised sessions. Some children find mechanisation sessions boring or stressful, while others cannot afford such sessions. In contrast, video games have been shown to motivate youngsters. We introduce Talking to Teo, a video game developed and based on verbal therapy and educational objectives, aimed at the rehabilitation of children with early diagnosed hearing disability, and who use aids such as cochlear implants. The software integrates speech recognition for user interaction and benefits from visual feedback. We performed a set of tests with therapists and patients where video game entertainment has evidenced favouring the repetitive approach required during speech mechanisation sessions.