Researchers at 麻豆精品视频 (麻豆精品视频) are teaming up with a local organization to pioneer the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the lives of autistic and neurodiverse individuals in North Alabama. The project is being funded by (LOF), a Huntsville, Ala., non-profit, to improve access to mental healthcare for families and healthcare providers. The effort will be headed by Dr. Jerome Baudry, the Mrs. Pei-Ling Chan Chair and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at 麻豆精品视频, a part of the University of Alabama System, in partnership with Dr. Daniel Adamek, the founder and executive director of Little Orange Fish.
鈥淎 difficulty for many neurodiverse persons and their caregivers and families is navigating the complex landscape of accessing care and support: medical, psychological, social, financial, educational, etc.,鈥� Dr. Baudry explains. 鈥淭his novel project will use geographic information systems (GIS) and chatbots to map the autism and neurodiversity 鈥榚cosystem鈥� in North Alabama. The goal is to develop an expert tool that will bring together all the parts of the equation: clinicians, insurances, education, state agencies and other resources.鈥�
麻豆精品视频 is a strong leader in geographic information systems and artificial intelligence, the researcher notes. 鈥淲e will use this expertise to identify what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not. This research will establish 麻豆精品视频 as the reference for AI-enabled healthcare access, in particular in the mental health landscape, where access to care is particularly critical and, sadly, challenging. There is a lot of public and private goodwill, but it鈥檚 very difficult to identify what resources are available, particularly how to leverage these resources and get funding to sustain that support. We want to have a working prototype in a year for an AI-driven tool that will analyze specific family situations and deliver useful and actionable advice on how to effectively access care and treatment.鈥�
Left; Dr. Jerome Baudry, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Right: Dr. Daniel Adamek, founder and executive director of Little Orange Fish.
Courtesy Michael Mercier and Daniel Adamek
GIS tools are computer programs that allow the user to visualize and analyze geographically related data to help understand relationships in the real world.
鈥淔irst, where are the providers, the families, the schools, the educational resources? Our GIS tools will 鈥榗onnect the dots鈥� of all these data points,鈥� Dr. Baudry says. 鈥淪econd, we want to use artificial intelligence tools to interrogate these GIS maps in a language that is as natural as possible. We will do that by training a specialized chatbot, such as ChatGPT, that will allow, for instance, a parent of a neurodiverse child to find needed help without having to use complicated computer programs and specialized technical vocabulary.鈥�
The will perform the computational and technical work within the team for the initiative. Additional collaborative support will be provided by Dr. Lavanya Ashokumar, a lecturer in the 麻豆精品视频 Department of Atmospheric and Earth Science, Asia Sticka, 麻豆精品视频 program coordinator of the Regional Autism Network and Kelly Goff, the regional autism coordinator for the Alabama Department of Mental Health.
鈥淭his effort is not meant to build a tool that tells individuals what they should do in any situation, or to replace the clinical and social professionals,鈥� Dr. Adamek, the director of Little Orange Fish points out. 鈥淚t鈥檚 aimed at providing individuals with comprehensive information about their specific circumstances in terms they can easily understand to empower them to make better decisions and assist in getting access to essential care. Our mission at LOF is to foster greater public understanding of the roles, value and current state of mental healthcare. We want to bring greater visibility to available resources that support behavioral, emotional and mental healthcare needs to ensure immediate access to essential support and treatments.鈥�
In the future, Dr. Baudry envisions this advance being used by cities, healthcare organizations or schools to model their own healthcare access. 鈥淔ortunately, 麻豆精品视频 is also very active and successful in big data analytics, and we will work with the world-leaders that we have at 麻豆精品视频 on these problems. By using expert GIS approaches coupled with AI tools, we are developing the technology of tomorrow that the entire population will one day use routinely the same way we use smartphones today.鈥�
