
Using a “Virtual Speech Helper” (with Maura Connor)
From De Facto Leaders by Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan
February 4, 2026 · 44 min · Episode 251
About this episode
This episode features a discussion with Maura Connor about the implications and uses of a virtual speech helper in therapy and education.
Have you met “Jessica” the virtual speech helper? I certainly remember hearing about it the first time. This concept raised a lot of questions in the clinical community. Are we trying to replace clinicians, and was that the intention behind this application? If you’ve had these questions too, you won’t want to miss this conversation. This episode is the second half of my interview with Maura Connor from BetterSpeech, the company that created an AI “virtual speech helper” to enhance and extend work being done in therapy sessions. In this conversation we talk about: ✅ How the “speech helper” was intended (and NOT intended) to be used ✅ Discussion on why technology initiatives fail in schools ✅ How can technology decrease work for educators (instead of adding more)? Maura Connor is an accomplished executive leader with deep expertise at the intersection of education and healthcare technology. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Better Speech, where she is leading the launch of Streamline, an AI-powered special education management platform that helps districts reduce administrative complexity for providers and teachers, ensure compliance visibility, and strengthen…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan
Guest: Maura Connor
Topics covered
- virtual speech technology
- education technology
- speech therapy
- AI in education
- clinical applications
- technology in schools
Keywords
- virtual speech helper
- AI technology
- speech therapy
- education
- BetterSpeech
- Streamline
- technology initiatives
- educators
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BetterSpeech
Products: Streamline, virtual speech helper
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