How a Mother Used AI to Amplify Her Autistic Son’s Voice; And Spark Systemic Change
By: Monée Williams
What happens when a child with autism has a painful experience at school, and his voice isn’t quite heard the way he needs it to be? For one remarkable mother, the answer was simple yet revolutionary: she listened, and used the assistance of AI to tell her son’s story, his way.
In this episode of One Minute with Monée, host Monée Williams sat down with El Brown — advocate, educator, innovator, and the founder of kindergam.com — to hear about how she transformed a difficult moment into a breakthrough with the help of ChatGPT.
El’s son, Ricky, experienced an inappropriate incident at school that left him emotionally shaken. Instead of brushing it aside, El listened to his story and gave it her undivided attention. Afterwards, Ricky asked to leave his classroom to process his emotions; an act of emotional maturity and intention. But the true brilliance came when El used AI to help Ricky communicate those feelings more clearly. She had him say his thoughts aloud in his natural voice, including his stutters. With ChatGPT, she converted his feelings into a structured narrative. This story, told authentically in his own words, was then sent in as a formal letter to the teacher, school administration, superintendent, and special education team. The response was immediate, and served as a promise to not only Ricky, but countless other students like him.
El and Ricky’s experience is more than a story; it’s a blueprint for advocacy. El helps demonstrate that AI can be an essential accessibility tool. With its facets, we can create spaces for neurodivergent individuals to better express themselves, so that we can better accommodate their needs.
Hear the full story of El’s journey on Episode 15: Journey to Building a Top-Notch Village for Autism with Dr. El Brown. This story is a sentiment about education, equity and the wellbeing of our children. For more moving conversations like this one, subscribe to the One Minute with Monée podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube today. Let’s build a more inclusive world, one story at a time.
Monée Williams is the insightful host of the "One Minute with Monee" podcast and the dynamic owner of Time Managed LLC. Her passion lies in empowering busy adults to achieve balance and harmony in their lives. Tune into her podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and YouTube for weekly doses of wisdom. For those seeking to streamline their lives with expert concierge and personal assistant services, reach out to Time Managed, LLC at hello@timemanagedllc.com or schedule a personalized consultation at https://calendly.com/timemanaged/30-minute-consultation.
