How AI Helps me Connect with Families Through Language
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."- Nelson Mandela
Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in a special event centered on moms and AI, by the innovative MamaNest. I was asked a profound, yet simple question:
“What inspired you to use AI to support language learning and communication?”
And I’ve been reflecting on that ever since.
As a speech and language pathologist working with multilingual, multicultural families, my passion has always been to bridge the communication gaps that so often come between a family and the support system around them. Whether those gaps stem from linguistic differences, cultural misalignment, or simply a lack of tools, they leave vulnerable families feeling alone or misunderstood.
That’s where AI came in for me.
Why I Use AI in My Practice
I began experimenting with AI tools designed for speech therapists – not to replace us, but to enhance what we already do best: observe, personalize, and empower.
Let me explain.
Imagine a child who speaks a language I’m less fluent in. Traditionally, that could challenge the fairness or depth of my assessment. But using language AI, I can now analyze audio clips of the child interacting with their parent — and get valuable insights into their vocabulary, sentence structure, and communicative intent.
Even better? AI can help me grasp the cultural nuances of their home environment — how the parent and child communicate, how warmth, correction, or storytelling are expressed in that specific language and culture. That’s not something a textbook can teach. But AI, with the right ethical use and intent, can illuminate it beautifully.
Language Is a Lens — AI Helps Me See Through It
I often say:
“You can’t truly learn a language without being touched by its culture.”
AI helps me honor that idea. By allowing assessments and even interventions to occur in the child’s native language, I’m not just evaluating a child — I’m seeing them.
And it goes beyond the child. I can now send translated follow-ups and activities to parents in their preferred language. This helps include them in the therapy process, empower them to be active contributors, and make them feel heard and welcomed.
One particular case touched me deeply:
I was working with a young Spanish-speaking child. While I speak Spanish conversationally, I don’t feel confident composing professional documentation or detailed emails in it. Using AI, I was finally able to give that family weekly recaps and home activity ideas — in their own words. Their response? Gratitude, warmth, and more collaboration. It changed everything.
AI’s Power Isn’t in the Tech — It’s in the Connection
What AI gave me wasn’t a shortcut — it was an extension of empathy.
It allowed me to:
Assess more fairly
Include more deeply
Communicate more clearly
Empower more authentically
This is only the beginning. I truly believe that in the future, AI will help schools evaluate “immigrant” children based on their thinking, not just their second-language fluency. A child could present a project in their native language, and we’d assess the content, not just the grammar.
And that … that’s real inclusion.
I'm excited to share more soon about how AI has impacted me as a creator and as a mother. But for now, I hope this gave you a peek into how tech can be kind — especially when guided by the heart.
Because when we use AI to include more children and their families — in their languages, their stories, their truth — we multiply our work and expand their voices.
💬 Let’s keep the conversation going.
With empathy,
