Real-world testing showed that families are open to using AI tools in daily life when they provide meaningful and practical support.

Australian Rotary Health David Henning Memorial Foundation PhD Scholarship recipient, Nina Perry, set out to investigate the feasibility of an artificial intelligence (AI)-assistive device, the Pixi Home-Hub, to support the adaptive functioning of people with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs). Adaptive functioning is defined as the learnt skills needed to succeed in everyday life, such as communicating, self-care and motor skills. People with NDCs, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and intellectual developmental disabilities (IDDs), are known to experience challenges in their adaptive functioning on a day-to-day basis which can impact their overall independence and quality of life. The research set out to study how new and innovative technologies can support everyday adaptive functioning in this population.

This PhD project was organised into two distinct phases. Phase one included hosting focus groups with community members, including adults with IDDs and their support people, as well as parents of children with autism. Feedback was gathered on people’s adaptive functioning activities and how AI-assistive devices could support these. For example, prompting/reminders for activities (e.g., homework, therapy exercises), visual goal trackers and personalised meal plans. The main findings from the focus groups conducted with adults with IDDs were that people wanted these tools to meet universal accessibility requirements and support individual self-advocacy to achieve daily tasks independently. Families with children with autism on the other hand, proposed that AI-assistive technologies would be most beneficial as a digital health navigator to facilitate greater access to health and government supports. The results from Phase one of this project jointly showed that people in the community have a desire to use AI tools, particularly when they are highly personalised to provide adaptive support tailored to individual adaptive functioning needs and changing contexts.

In Phase two, Nina Perry and the research team incorporated the feedback from Phase one and then piloted the Pixi Home-Hub device in a diverse population of families with children with NDCs. This pilot was conducted at Westmead Children’s Hospital, where the team interviewed families and they were able to use the Pixi Home-Hub at home in their everyday routines for two weeks. The team also created a daily check-in survey on the device called The Daily Wellbeing survey, created in collaboration with clinicians at the Hospital. This survey aimed to capture children’s adaptive functioning and family wellbeing as it occurs naturally in daily life. In addition, survey responses on the Daily Wellbeing Survey were analysed with a current measure of adaptive functioning used at the Hospital, to measure if a digital health tool can capture information useful for assessments and appointments. The main results from this phase showed that although there were barriers to implementing the Pixi Home-Hub in daily routines, parents wanted AI technology to support daily activities and provide on-going adaptive functioning support. This study also showed that digital tools can complement assessments by capturing adaptive functioning information in children’s everyday environments. Caregivers also voiced a desire for digitally driven wellbeing assistance for themselves through AI-assistive tools.

The collective results from this series of studies show that members of the community have identified the potential of AI-assistive technology to support adaptive functioning and that there is a desire to integrate these tools into daily routines. It also confirms that AI-assistive technology holds substantial potential as a solution to provide measurable information on adaptive functioning as well as wellbeing.

Media contact: [email protected]       First published 10th September 2026

Graphic acknowledgement: Freepik.com