How ChatGPT, An AI Assistant Can Help In Raising Children With Autism and ADHD

Aadya is a 9-year-old girl with autism and ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). She is a curious child who struggles with learning and communication. She takes a long time to process information and respond to questions. Determined to help her reach her full potential, her parents looked for many options to support her development. Recently, they came to know about AI tools, and now, they are using ChatGPT, an AI tool, to help Aadya with her specific learning needs.

Like Aadya’s parents, many parents who are raising children with special needs are turning to resources like ChatGPT to help their children with personalized study materials and other support that the chatbot is capable of providing.

Of course, ChatGPT cannot replace professional therapies and treatments available for children with autism spectrum disorders. However, it’s quite handy as an effective assisting tool for parenting a child with autism.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an AI-based language tool developed by a company named OpenAI with large amounts of text data from the internet. It uses a complex algorithm to generate responses to any given question/prompts. It can engage in human-like conversations and provide a huge amount of information within seconds.

Let’s look at some of the ways Aadya and her parents are using ChatGPT to support learning and how this tool can be used innovatively in raising children with special needs:

ChatGPT makes language learning easy

Aadya has a learning disability and lacks verbal language skills. She finds it difficult to grasp certain topics taught in school. That’s when her parents introduced her to ChatGPT where she needs to just type her prompt word or the topic and ChatGPT explains it in simple English. Now, Aadya regularly types unknown words in the ChatGPT search bar and is able to improve her vocabulary.

Like Aadya, many children with learning disabilities are finding it easier to learn, as ChatGPT explains topics based on users’ level of understanding.

Supports children with ADHD

Parents are also experimenting with activities suggested by ChatGPT to keep children with ADHD occupied positively.

Aadya’s parents are finding this tool very helpful, as it can keep her busy for longer. After school, as she types for activities to do, the chatbot suggests mosaic art where she has to arrange small pieces of colored materials like paper or tiles to form a larger image. Aadya enjoys this activity and spends quite some time practicing it. With the help of her parents, she goes back to ChatGPT for more detailed instructions on mosaic art and other such engaging activities.

On school holidays, Aadya asks ChatGPT for suggestions, and it makes a customized to-do list for her, which she follows. She never forgets to write a thank-you note to the chatbot after it suggests her things to do.

Helps with time management

ChatGPT can help parents and children stay organized and help them manage their time well with to-do lists for tasks. Time management is always challenging for parents of children with special needs, as they need to divide their time between caregiving, career and personal time.

ChatGPT can prepare personalized to-do lists and schedules. So, it can be effectively used to break bigger, complicated tasks/assignments into smaller, doable tasks.

Being a sensitive child, Aadya used to get overwhelmed whenever she had lots of homework, but now with the help of ChatGPT, she is able to break her homework into manageable chunks. It also reduces a lot of stress for her parents.

Assists with communication

Aadya always has trouble expressing her feelings, as she has limited language skills. But recently, she penned down a beautiful note for her teachers on Teachers’ Day with the help of ChatGPT. Aadya has another special project in the pipeline— creating a thoughtful, personalized birthday card for her mother, using ChatGPT!

Develops customized learning plans

Aadya has a virtual tutor these days. No, it’s not one of those Edtech companies, but a friendly AI tool. ChatGPT acts as her virtual tutor, as it provides one-on-one instructions.

Recently, Aadya’s parents asked ChatGPT to customize a learning plan for Aadya based on her excellent math skills but below-average language skills. They also got valuable resources to help her learn better. ChatGPT also provides them with the latest research in the field of learning disabilities and suggests a few innovative multisensory learning activities to try at home with Aadya.

As Aadya’s parents provided some user feedback, ChatGPT can now design Aadya’s lessons in a simple language so that she doesn’t have to struggle with complex sentences.

Acts as an emotional anchor

Yes, you read it right. Aadya and her parents are increasingly turning to ChatGPT for emotional support too. Aadya considers it one of her many imaginary friends sent by God to help her with “anything.”

As an emotionally aware AI, ChatGPT can understand some basic traits and uniqueness of its users and can provide tailor-made answers and support. Aadya always feels valued and heard whenever she interacts with the chatbot. Her parents have realized that the chatbot is able to provide empathetic responses to Aadya’s queries.

Like all technology tools, ChatGPT too should be used with caution, as all the information provided by it may not be wholly true. It is always better to interact with a professional when it comes to parenting issues while raising a child with special needs. But for everything else, smart AI tools like ChatGPT is always there to provide all the required information with the click of a button.

Also read: How ChatGPT Inspired Creativity in the Children and Took Us on a Fascinating Journey.