AI opportunities: five tools for a learning disability

To guide our children well in AI times, we shouldn't only think about risks, but also make sure opportunities are reachable for as many young people as possible.

That's why today I'm sharing five AI tools and tricks that are helpful when your child is hindered in learning by a disability or learning disorder. Much of it is free and ready to use immediately.

1. Autism: on pictofacile.com you type/paste a text, click "Generate" and within five seconds download a PDF with pictograms. It works nicely for a daily schedule or to explain, for example, what's going to happen during a holiday.
2. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): on tolk.tosenjij.nl you'll find an app that uses AI and is specially made for children with DLD; it simplifies texts and helps with writing, so school texts and assignments become more understandable.
3. Dyslexia: Microsoft Immersive Reader is already built into Word, Teams and Edge and uses AI to read texts aloud while highlighting words. You can also adjust font and line spacing. Through school this is sometimes already available; often it's just a matter of switching it on.
4. Autism or ADHD: Goblin.tools is a Belgian website that uses AI to automatically turn big, overwhelming tasks into small, achievable steps. You don't need an account and it costs nothing.
5. You can also directly use a chatbot like ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot. Guide your child in this; there's no need to share a name or diagnosis. Something like this is enough: "I need to do [task] but find it hard to get started. Give me 5 small steps of max 10 minutes."

For some children, AI is here what glasses are for someone with poor vision: finally being able to keep up.