UK-based expert, advocates AI for autism inclusion

A United Kingdom based researcher, Oyeyemi Adako, yesterday, canvassed for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support and drive the inclusion of people, particularly children living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Adako, an autism advocate and Executive Director of the Education for Autism Initiative (EAI) said the use of AI tools can create more inclusive, adaptive and personalised learning tailored to the distinct needs of every autistic child.

She spoke while delivering her special lecture, titled “Unlocking Silent Potentials: Harnessing AI to Transform Autism Education,” at the 2025 Autism Conference Program, held at Muson Centre, Lagos, yesterday.

The Conference, with the theme: “From Awareness to Action: 15 Years of Advancing Autism Inclusion,” was on the behest of the Orange Ribbon Initiative, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), powered by Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc. (GTCO).

Adako advanced the transformative role of AI in special needs learning, pointing out, for instance, that leveraging this cutting-edge technology will help personalise learning to reach out to children with autism who have been left behind.

While pointing out that classroom teaching alone is not ideal for autistic children, Adako said using the right AI tools could open up exciting ways for such children to learn, explore and grow.

She noted that some of these AI tools are already on most mobile devices or phones which are not expensive or complicated. “You can get a phone that is affordable. We need the teachers to be trained and the children to have access to all these tools,” she stated.

According to her, the government has a role to play, for instance, in ensuring internet connectivity in schools across the country, including getting the teachers or the educators trained in the use of AI tools to support and drive the inclusion of autistic children.

Adako, a dedicated policy advocate, working to ensure equitable educational opportunities for neurodivergent children, further said: “My vision is a world in which every autistic child, regardless of geography, has access to personalised, empowering education that unlocks their full potential.”