Innovating Inclusivity: How AI Elevates Disability Care

By Maya Olivia Davis LinkedIn

“Assistive technology is a life changer – it opens the door to education for children with impairments, employment and social interaction for adults living with disabilities, and an independent life of dignity for older persons." - World Health Organization Director-General, Dr. Tedros Andhanom Ghebreyesus 

Health equity for people with disabilities has been a long-standing battle. People with disabilities have statistically worse access to healthcare compared to people without disabilities. Problems for those with disabilities include barriers to accessibility both in the physical space and with the ability to communicate, lack of specialized services, financial barriers, and discrimination. With this, artificial intelligence has shown feasible accommodations to improve the quality of care people with disabilities receive. 

Artificial intelligence has shown the ability to aid in diagnoses of neurological disorders. This includes disabilities such as brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dementia, headache disorders, neuroinfections, stroke, and traumatic brain injuries. Machine-learning techniques can input large data sets including signaling and imaging data to detect specific abnormalities to diagnose disabilities autonomously. This ability makes artificial intelligence both more accurate and faster than its human counterpart in neurological disorder diagnoses. This model could also apply to other diagnoses in the future. Applying this model in healthcare would decrease human error and decrease work overload in an attempt to better the patient-healthcare relationship. Artificial intelligence shows an increased ability to instantaneously diagnose. This has the potential to specifically increase healthcare for people who cannot access specialists. Increased accessibility directly betters healthcare for those who are disabled as it decreases some of the previously specified barriers. 

Artificial intelligence allows for more specific personalized treatment plans. Though this is in the beginning stages of application, AI-augmented learning and applied behavior analytics (AI-ABA) analyzes data to generate personalized treatment plans for children with autism, intellectual disabilities, and developmental disabilities. This encompasses disabilities such as Down syndrome, fetal alcohol disorders, and ADHD. Artificial intelligence collects cognitive, perceptive, speech, movement, and physiological data to record more detailed behavioral events. The automation of clinical observations via AI provides more accurate behavioral data and in real-time therapeutic plans. This benefits the patient compared to the typical use of the clinician as the clinician takes time to analyze the data and the clinician is subjective to biases. Biases in ABA by a clinician include biases based on statistics in diagnoses; including gender, race, and age, cultural value biases, and overall stigmatization of disabilities. These biases can alter treatment plans to not directly value personalization, but rather promote the clinician's perception. Because of this, artificial intelligence shows great improvement in healthcare for specific disabilities as it limits biases in their treatment plans. 

Using artificial intelligence, assistive technologies for people with disabilities have greatly improved. Forbes explains the main ways in which artificial intelligence technology has given power back to people with disabilities are by easing communication, providing more learning opportunities, promoting an independent lifestyle, and connecting to the outside world. Some of the devices recognized as assistive technologies include speech recognition devices, which decrease barriers relating to communication. Computer vision allows people with disabilities to navigate and engage in their environment, thereby decreasing physical barriers. Mobility technologies offer personalized solutions for those with mobility disabilities. Artificial intelligence can assist in organizing schedules, providing reminders, and generating contextually relevant responses to conversations to aid those with cognitive disabilities. These technologies, though not entirely funded by healthcare, have a significant impact on accessibility for people with disabilities, ultimately improving their care quality. The discrepancies between assistive technology and healthcare are that many assistive technologies focus on broader purposes beyond what is currently specified in current healthcare settings. With the increase in artificial intelligence decreasing the workload of healthcare professionals, healthcare may move towards a more holistic approach focusing on quality of life, which is also referred to as taking a more patient-centered approach. 

Holistic healthcare offers a unique approach that places significant emphasis on understanding and addressing the diverse needs of people with disabilities. Unlike traditional healthcare practices, which often focus exclusively on treating specific, isolated symptoms or conditions, holistic healthcare recognizes the complex relationships between physical, emotional, mental, and social aspects of health for people living with disabilities. Qualities of holistic healthcare focus on individualized care, integrating conventional medical treatments and alternative therapies, emphasizing personal self-care, and including cultural sensitivity. Holistic healthcare provides people with disabilities with more autonomy as it allows them to be part of their personalized healthcare treatment plans. Practicing holistic healthcare shows strides for health equity for people with disabilities as it fosters open communication with the patient to decrease care barriers, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of their treatment. 

Artificial intelligence increases the accuracy and timeliness of administrative and diagnostic information provided to both workers and patients. Because of this, healthcare workers are less likely to experience work overload as time-consuming tasks can now be mitigated through artificial intelligence technologies. With this, artificial intelligence is likely to lead a transformative shift towards a more holistic care paradigm. Artificial intelligence empowers healthcare workers to focus on compassionate care through personalized patient interactions. This shift would further promote why many people join healthcare in the first place, which is to care for others. 

Many of the ways artificial intelligence is being used in disability healthcare and healthcare overall are considered the beginning stages of this technology. There is still a large amount of conceptual ideas being proposed concerning how artificial intelligence can benefit healthcare.

The next step to using artificial intelligence to specifically benefit people with disabilities is to increase research to better understand the benefits and mitigate the potential consequences. It is also important to discuss research and results with people who are a part of the disabled community. Lived experiences offer valuable perspectives on how artificial intelligence can adapt to accommodate disability care and how researchers may better interpret data provided through artificial intelligence research relating to disabilities. By prioritizing artificial intelligence research in healthcare we can enhance accessibility, independence, and quality of life for people with disabilities. We can also further explore how these accommodations can better other areas of healthcare, overall producing more holistic healthcare, which leads to happier and healthier communities. 

Actionable Steps for Integrating AI in Disability Healthcare:

1. Deepen Your Knowledge

• Study AI in Healthcare: Take relevant courses and follow the latest research.
• Stay Updated: Read reputable journals and online platforms for AI trends.

2. Develop Expertise

• Hands-On Experience: Work with AI-driven assistive tools.

3. Apply Your Skills Practically

• Internships: Gain experience in healthcare settings using AI.
• Research Projects: Collaborate on AI-focused research in disability care.

4. Build a Professional Network

• Attend Conferences: Network and stay informed at industry events.

5. Advocate and Innovate

• Promote Ethical AI: Ensure AI benefits people with disabilities.
• Innovate: Research new AI applications to improve healthcare accessibility.