Artificial Intelligence (AI) has profoundly transformed technology and the way we operate in modern society. It has helped people of all ages, but it has been especially beneficial to supporting children and their mental health issues. This advancing technology has the power to enhance early intervention, provide personalised care and create a safe environment for children to voice their concerns.
Early Diagnosis
Around one in five children suffer from anxiety and depression. As children under the age of eight can’t properly express their emotional suffering, it requires adults to intervene and provide support. Due to the excessive waiting lists and parents struggling to recognise the symptoms, children are missing out on vital support. Artificial intelligence systems have been developed to provide a potential solution to this problem. The system can identify the early signs by looking for patterns in a child’s behaviour, interaction, and communication. A recent study announced that a screening tool powered by artificial intelligence detected both anxiety and depression in children from their voices at a high level of accuracy. The tools for diagnosing autism such as Autism Diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) has also been benefitted from Artificial intelligence, improving its accuracy and shortening diagnosis time.
Emotional Support
There are many helplines which are now powered by artificial intelligence. These helplines can provide a highly responsive and personalised support to children, resulting in immediate assistance from the experts. Woebot and Replika are both great platforms that offer children a safe space to express their feelings and thoughts. Children who struggle to cope with their mental health can also use apps like Calm and Headspace, which employ artificial intelligence to customise mindfulness and meditation exercises. Al Chatbots can also serve as virtual campion. They offer emotional support to children who might find it challenging to make friends or face social situations. Harlie is a good example of this kind of chatbot, she is a smartphone app that not only answers queries but also stimulates dialogue by asking questions back to the user.
Social and Emotional Learning
Social robots such as Jibo and Moxie have been designed to help children by engaging them in conversations and activities that encourage social and emotional learning. These robots are particularly helpful for children who suffer from autism or social anxiety. ClassDojo is another AI-powered platform designed to support children with their social and emotional learning. It is an online classroom app for teachers to lead interactive activities with the students, communicate with them from school to home, and provide feedback on their behaviour.
Reducing the Stigma around Mental Health
By offering a degree of anonymity, AI chatbots and online platforms allow children to reach out for help without the worry of being judged, which lowers the stigma attached to mental health disorders. Artificial intelligence is also used to create and distribute tailored mental health awareness programmes. These programmes can educate children and their parents about the importance of mental health and the options available to them.
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/research/what-is-generative-ai-gen-ai-and-how-can-it-impact-childrens-wellbeing/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-future-brain/201905/how-ai-can-detect-children-anxiety-and-depression
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/artificial-intelligence
https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.chc.2009.03.004
