Understanding how students with disabilities use AI in education in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study is fully based on how AI tools are used to support autistic children aged 5 to 6 in Sri Lanka. Data were collected through a Google survey completed by teachers, therapists, and caregivers. My main goal was to identify the challengers faced by these autistics' children aged 5 to 6 and present new suggestions for developing better AI tools. Many participants reported that existing AI tools are difficult for autism children to use because they do not include local language support, making it hard for children to understand the instruction. Despite these issues, most participants still believe that AI tools can improve children’s communication skills. The results of this research show that AI tools need to be simple, user friendly, support the Sinhala language and help improve social interactions. They should also be work offline in low resource setting. Overall, this research gives practical ideas and suggestions to improve AI tools for autistic children aged 5 to 6.