An Online Expert System for Diagnostic Assessment Procedures on Young Children's Oral Speech and Language

Internet has influenced many aspects of modern life, as it gave people the opportunity to access massive amount of information. Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) offer the option to analyze, organize, synthesize and transmit information and therefore contribute and reveal valuable clinical and educational tools.The aim of the present study is to report on the development of an Internet based Speech Pathology Expert System in Greek, named APLo, intended to be used by clinicians and teachers involved in oral language learning and strengthening of four to seven year old children. This system embeds the expert's knowledge on oral language assessment. A hybrid approach that integrates symbolic rules with neural networks is being used to model and represent the knowledge in the system. Particular attention is given to the validation and verification of the system. Potentials, further use and developments for upgrading e-evaluation/e-assessment of speech and language disorders and protocols according to technological and scientific advances are discussed.