Bridging the Gap between Technology and Therapy:
Using AI-Supplemented Exposure Therapy to Enhance Social Functioning in Neurodivergent Adolescents
This project explores how artificial intelligence can work alongside therapy to support neurodivergent adolescents in building social confidence and navigating everyday interactions. Rather than replacing human connection or clinical care, the study imagines AI as a personalized social skills coach that provides safe, adaptive, and repeated opportunities to practice conversations, interpret social cues, and manage real-world social situations. By combining traditional therapy with daily AI-guided exercises, the research highlights the potential for technology to make support more accessible, individualized, and empowering for autistic and neurodivergent youth. At its core, the project asks an important question: how can technology be designed not just to automate tasks, but to genuinely enhance human well-being, connection, and independence?