VOA健康报道2024--AI App Helps People with ADHD

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Becky Litvintchouk did not think she would be able to finish the many tasks needed to start her own business. She has Attention Deficit¹ Hyperactivity Disorder², or ADHD. It affects every part of her life and hurts her ability to focus on one thing at a time.

So, two years ago, she turned to artificial intelligence, or AI. She uses an app called Claude. It helps her decide which contracts are the best for her cleaning-wipes business, GetDirty. Using the app means she does not need to read each contract, word for word. She also created business plans by telling the generative AI bot what her goals were. It then created steps for her to reach them.

"It's been just massively instrumental. I probably would not be where I am today," Litvintchouk said of using AI.

People with ADHD experience difficulties with focusing, organizing and controlling urges. Experts say generative AI tools can help them finish tasks more quickly.

However, they also warn that such tools should not replace traditional treatments for ADHD. Some experts also have concerns about possibly using AI too much. They also worry about privacy risks.

Will apps replace ADHD treatment?

John Mitchell is an associate professor at Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina. He said that AI apps should be used as "one tool in a toolbox." AI should not take the place of traditional treatments, such as developing organizational skills or taking medications.

He compared using AI to help ADHD with swimming and staying alive in the water. "If you're kind of treading water in your job and AI's a life preserver, well, that's great you're staying above water." But, he added, "you still don't know how to swim."

What else can the apps do?

Litvintchouk, a married mother of four living in New York City, dropped out of high school and left the workforce³. Research shows that these things are more likely to happen to people with ADHD.

Aside from helping⁴ with her business, she uses ChatGPT to help with food shopping. Food shopping and meal planning are tasks that can be difficult for people with ADHD because these tasks require organizational skills.

After sharing her method with another mom with ADHD, she decided⁵ more people needed to know about it. She started making videos on TikTok about the AI tools she uses to help with her ADHD struggles.

Generative AI tools can help people with ADHD break down big tasks into smaller, more doable steps. Chatbots can offer advice for specific things and make people feel like they are talking with a real person. Some AI apps can also help with reminders⁶ and productivity.

Software engineer Bram de Buyser said he created Goblin.tools with his neurodivergent friends in mind. The tool's most popular feature is the "magic to-do." A user can enter a task and the bot will create a to-do list. It can even break down large items on the list into smaller tasks.

"I'm not trying to build a cure," de Buyser said, "but something that helps them out (for) two minutes out of the day that they would otherwise struggle with."

What kinds of problems could apps create?

Russell Fulmer is a professor at Husson University in the northeastern state of Maine. He described the research around AI and ADHD as "inconclusive." In other words, the results of its usefulness are still not known.

Experts say they see how AI can have a positive effect on the lives of people with anxiety and ADHD. But, Fulmer said, such tools may not work well for everyone, including people of color with ADHD. He pointed⁷ to chatbot responses that have been racist⁸ and unfair toward certain groups of people at times.

Valese Jones is a publicist and founder⁹ of Sincerely Nicole Media. She was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. She uses AI bots to help with reading and responding to emails as well as proofreading¹⁰ public relations plans. But chatbot responses do not always go along with who she really is.

"There are cadences¹² in my writing where you can kind of pick up on the fact that I'm southern, and that's on purpose," said Jones, who is Black. She purposefully writes in a way that shows her culture. However, the responses she gets back from bots often do not show that.

Software engineer de Buyser said that using AI chatbots as a personal assistant has a big upside: They are never tired and never sleep.

The downside? They also create privacy issues. When you give an AI chatbot your personal information, emails, calendar and personal writings, you are giving it to a big company, he warned.

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

Words in This Story

focus -n. a center of activity, attraction, or attention

generative -adj. having the power or function of generating, originating, producing, or reproducing

instrumental -adj. serving as a crucial means, agent, or tool

tread water -v. while in deep water a person float in an upright position by moving their legs slightly

life preserver -n. a device (such as a life jacket or life buoy) designed to save a person from drowning by providing buoyancy in water

neurodivergent -adj. having or relating to a disorder or condition (such as autism spectrum¹³ disorder, attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder) that impacts the way the brain processes information : exhibiting or characteristic of variations in typical neurological development

inconclusive -adj. leading to no conclusion or definite result

diagnose -n. to recognize (something, such as a disease) by signs and symptoms

cadence¹¹ -n. a rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 proofreading   

校对，校勘( proofread的现在分词 )； 做校对工作； 校读

参考例句：

• Martha, when can you finish proofreading the script? 玛莎，你什么时候可以校对完剧本？ 来自轻松英语会话---联想3000词(上)
• Attention, an important factor in editing and proofreading, affects editing quality directly. 注意力是编校过程中重要的心理因素，直接影响编辑质量。

11 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

12 cadences   

n.（声音的）抑扬顿挫( cadence的名词复数 )；节奏；韵律；调子

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow, measured cadences. 他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He recognized the Polish cadences in her voice. 他从她的口音中听出了波兰腔。 来自辞典例句

13 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。