New AI for Autistic Individuals

Finding a good AI platform to employ as a tool for an autistic child's learning can be very difficult. Very few of them, if any, are designed specifically for the use of autistic individuals. As advancements in the field of AI progress, its uses address increasingly niche problems. With these advancements, one new role that is being filled is that of teacher, specifically for autistic individuals trying to develop and improve social skills. Here, we will examine some of the new generative AI programs that are being developed specifically for use in the autism community

Noora

One new chatbot being tested for use within the autism community is Noora. Designed by Dr. Lynn Koegel, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, and a multidisciplinary team of Stanford scholars, Noora helps users learn various social skills. Built using a large language model (LLM), Noora can offer both written and spoken guidance/practice on social communication, like compliment giving or question asking.

Research by Dr. Koegel has shown that autistic individuals can benefit from social practice in a face-to-face intervention in clinical settings. This data, along with AI advancements, led her to investigate whether or not AI can improve outcomes in the same way face-to-face practice can. Using Noora's empathy module, Dr. Koegel took the first step in answering her question.

The empathy module in Noora allows users to practice giving empathetic responses. The chatbot produces a leading statement, then asks the user to grade the statement as negative, neutral, or positive. Noora then grades the response from the user and asks for an empathetic response to the initial leading statement. After receiving the empathetic response, Noora will offer gentle advice or validate a good answer.

In this study, Koegel and colleagues set up a randomized trial with 30 participants, where half used Noora for four weeks and half received no treatment (control group). The 15 participants using Noora completed 200 total trials each over these four weeks. In comparing responses from the start of the experiment to the end, Koegel found that 71% of the Noora group increased their number of empathetic responses. To see if this improvement could also be generalized to human interaction, participants took a Zoom call with a research team member, where leading statements were given, similar to the Noora trials. After the assessment, it was observed that the experimental group had an average increase of 38%, while the control group's scores were similar pre- and post-intervention.

email lizziep@stanford.edu if you are interested in having your child participate in a trial

AutiHero

AutiHero is a generative AI-based social narrative system designed for behavioral guidance in social settings. Designed by a Korean-based team with members from POSTECH, Dodakim Child Development Center, and NAVER, AutiHero can support parents in building personalized stories for their autistic child to read together. Using the adaptability of a generative AI system, AutiHero generates text and images that reflect the child's interests and target behaviors in an everyday context.

In developing AutiHero, the team ran a two-week study with 16 autistic child-parent dyads. Parents created 218 stories and read 4.25 stories per day with their child, showing high engagement with the program. This program, designed for both parent and child, encourages parents to actively engage with their child's learning and targeted behaviors, while also letting the child receive gentle behavioral guidance from AutiHero. Some parents participating in the study actually expressed skepticism about their child reaching their target behavior after only two weeks using the program, and were pleasantly surprised to see the targeted behavior reached in this short period.

Echo-Teddy

Also being developed by a South Korean team, Echo-Teddy is an LLM-designed social robot intended to support autistic students in developing social skills. Echo-Teddy is not just a computer program, though. It is a physical teddy bear with speech components and basic motor functions built on a Raspberry Pi platform. So, unlike the two previous tools, Echo-Teddy can provide autistic children with a more tangible learning tool.

Still in its prototype stages, EchoTeddy has a long way to go before hitting the open market. Although the tech is promising, experts have noted the need for the product to incorporate things like immediate responsiveness, a carefully designed physical and behavioral model, etc., before it can make a general impact on real-world settings.

A Bright Future for AI in Special Education Spaces

While there is not yet an AI specifically designed for your autistic child available to the general public, those days will soon be past us. These three tools offer examples of research-backed AI social learning tools that will be available for general public use in the very near future.

Existing AI chatbots have the potential to provide autistic learners with a great supplementary learning tool, but having AI designed specifically for them takes this potential to even greater heights. While still offering a safe place to make mistakes and personalized learning plans, new AI chatbots designed for this population cut out the negatives of using existing platforms. They will provide structured learning, while minimizing the risk of emotional attachment, incorporate special education methods, and limit any triggering or distressing responses.

Next Steps

With AI appearing in more and more spaces, the days of trying to prevent people, or certain groups of people, from using AI are gone. AI is here to stay, and autistic children specifically must be educated on how to use AI safely for their benefit. New technology like Noora, AutiHero, and Echo-Teddy will provide your child with accessible, customized learning experiences that maximize their educational benefits while protecting them from the known dangers of AI

Although AI is a hotly debated topic, it is a new technology that needs to be embraced. Some out there believe that AI is the end of the world. In many ways, it might seem that way, but if we view it through the lens of a helpful supplement to our lives, we can see that AI gives us access to a new world without leading to the end of this one. Educate your autistic child on AI and use it for their benefit. Provide them every opportunity to learn social skills and connect with their peers, even if you are skeptical. Take their hand and lead them into the new world. AI-integrated programs, without a doubt, are the future of special education.