Artificial Intelligence (AI): Considerations for CSD Professionals

ASHA members and certificate holders can leverage generative AI tools to enhance their clinical efficiency and human connection with clients or patients. Whether you are using them for brainstorming therapy activities, streamlining documentation, or creating educational materials, these tools can be a valuable resource when you approach them thoughtfully and responsibly.

As you do with any clinical tool, you must use generative AI in a manner that meets clients’ and students’ specific needs, safeguards patient and student privacy, and reflects a commitment to evidence-based practice.

Sensitive, proprietary, and personally identifiable information (PII) should not be entered into generative AI tools. Remember that if you are a covered entity under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), you must safeguard protected health information (PHI) for your patients.

Generative AI tools save all information that is written into the platform as a way of gathering more data for learning. Therefore, it is not HIPAA compliant, and protected health information should not be shared. Assume that all generative AI tools are not HIPAA compliant, unless explicitly stated otherwise. This may include generative AI tools in a HIPAA compliant program like an electronic medical record (EMR).

A prompt is the text entered into an AI tool to generate the information that one is seeking. Designing or engineering a sufficient and appropriate prompt to solicit useful information is key. The way a question is phrased significantly impacts the quality, tone, and accuracy of a generative AI tool’s response. Specific, clear, and context-rich prompts tend to lead to more relevant, useful outputs. It is best practice to ask AI to “explain its reasoning” or “cite sources” to assess the reliability of a response. However, you should always check citations for accuracy.

ChatGPT created this chart comparing two examples of prompts—one poorly designed and one improved—to illustrate the principles of effective prompt engineering:

Prompt Type	Prompt Example	Analysis
Poor Prompt (General)	"Make an email."	This prompt is overly general, lacks context, and doesn't specify the purpose, audience, tone, or details required to generate a useful response.
Improved Prompt (Detailed)	"Compose a professional email to the parents of my pediatric speech therapy client reminding them of their next session on Thursday at 2 PM. Mention bringing their AAC device and any documentation they have about the recent audiology appointment. Use a friendly, supportive tone and ask them to confirm attendance."	This prompt clearly defines the task, recipient, client details, purpose, timing, required materials, and desired tone, ensuring an accurate, comprehensive, and directly applicable response.