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What If AI Could Help Us Understand a Non-Speaking Autistic Person? with Mike Carr
Description
Could AI Help Us Understand Non-Speaking Autism?
What if artificial intelligence could help parents and caregivers better understand what a profoundly autistic, non-speaking person experiences throughout the day?
In this episode of Autism Labs, Mike Carr explores how emerging AI technology could potentially help families identify patterns in stress, communication, behavior, engagement, and joy.
Mike introduces the concept of an AI "Doer," an assistant designed not simply to answer questions but to take action and help manage everyday life. He then explores how this concept could apply to autism caregiving.
By combining wearable technology, physiological data, audio, video, schedules, and daily activities, future AI systems could potentially create a more detailed picture of what is happening in an autistic person's life.
The technology could help identify:
- Activities associated with happiness and engagement
- Situations that create stress or frustration
- Changes in behavior or communication
- Patterns that may be difficult for caregivers to observe consistently
- Strategies and activities that appear to work well
- Changes that could prompt caregivers to check in
Mike discusses his family's experience with his non-speaking son and explains why better information could be particularly valuable when a person cannot easily tell others what they are feeling or experiencing.
The episode also looks at the future of AI-assisted caregiving, autonomous transportation, wearable technology, and the potential for a continuous feedback loop that observes, assesses, suggests, and reassesses.
Importantly, Mike acknowledges that the fully integrated system he describes is not yet in place. Many of the individual technologies exist today, while the systems needed to bring them together are still developing.
Autism Labs hopes to explore these technologies further and eventually test practical applications in day programs, respite, residential support, and other real-world settings.
If you're a parent, caregiver, family member, or professional supporting someone with profound autism, this conversation offers a thought-provoking look at what technology might make possible in the future.
Listen to the full episode and share your thoughts with Mike at mike@autismlabs.com