Xintong Du

Updated March 2024

Speech challenges afflict millions of Chinese children, but there aren’t enough therapists

Speech impairments can affect children’s self-confidence, make it difficult to socialize, and limit their access to education. In China, 29 million children suffer from speech problems resulting from cleft palate surgery and other conditions. Yet only about 10,000 speech therapists serve the entire country, most of them located in large cities.

“There’s also a lack of specialized support,” says Xintong Du, founder and CEO of VoiceChanger. “Existing rehabilitation institutions almost all focus on autism. But there’s also a great need for high-quality, specialized speech rehabilitation services for children with other types of speech impairments.”

Three-pronged business model provides speech rehabilitation, family support, and therapist training

Xintong was pursuing a career in broadcasting when she met a young girl with a cleft palate who was receiving speech therapy.

“When I heard this little girl’s voice, I was touched by how passionate she was despite her speech impediment,” Xintong says. “I truly wanted to help her. I did more research and learned that there were millions of other children dealing with similar speech impediments.”

She realized that her passion was not in television but in helping children. She left broadcasting and founded VoiceChanger in 2016 to provide affordable rehabilitation services for speech-impaired children ages two to 16, as well as to train more speech therapists and build strong family support systems.

“We started out as an NGO with a team of ten volunteers and didn’t charge any fees for the first four years,” Xintong recalls. “Nine of those are now full-time employees who are still with us today.”

VoiceChanger opened its first in-person center in 2019 and currently operates 13 stores in 10 cities across China in addition to its online courses. To expand its impact, VoiceChanger also developed a franchise store system that allows cities to replicate its service model.

To reduce the shortage of therapists, VoiceChanger designed an online speech rehabilitation training system with content developed by leading universities and hospitals. Courses focus on speech fluency, voice and articulation training, and other therapeutic techniques.

VoiceChanger clients’ recovery time beats industry average

Since 2016, VoiceChanger has helped more than 8,000 children overcome speech challenges in its centers across China as well as through online courses. Average recovery time for its clients is one to three months, compared with a six- to twelve-month industry average. The company has trained more than 1,300 speech therapists, 100 of whom work full time.

“Behind these numbers, I hope to provide a standardized solution for the speech rehabilitation industry,” Xintong says. “We want language to be a bridge for children, rather than a barrier.”