Higher Education

Using AI to Support Neurodivergent Teens

The content on this page is in support of a webinar hosted in collaboration with Neurodiversity Academy.

You can download a copy of my PowerPoint slides for the webinar here:


Executive Functioning

Executive functions are the brain’s way of helping you stay on track. They’re things like making plans, organising your stuff, switching between tasks, handling changes, and managing your thoughts and feelings. Everyone’s brain works a little differently, so if these things feel tricky sometimes, you’re not alone - it just means your brain has its own unique style.

On this page are some ways of using AI to help support your executive functioning when studying and planning your time.

These aren’t the only tech tools that can help: your phone and computer already have tools, like Reminders, Notes, Calendars and other inbuilt apps that can help you with this. Have a play with these tools on your devices to learn what they do. If you’re using Apple devices, this is a good guide to using Reminders: https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/reminders/welcome/mac

The following ideas are ways to support executive functioning using different AI prompts and AI tools. You can use whatever AI platform works best for you - I use ChatGPT, but all the different platforms have their pros and cons.


Planning and Organising

Goal:
Break a task down into bite-sized, sequenced actions.

Prompt:
Act as my assignment-breakdown coach.
Here’s the task: [paste task].

List every sub-step in the right order.
Identify anything I might forget, and estimate minutes per step.

 

Goblin Tools - a free web tool to break down tasks into small steps: https://goblin.tools

Ayoa - a clever mind map tool with AI built in: https://www.ayoa.com

Task Simplifier - a custom GPT I made to help simplify tasks: http://tiny.cc/task-sandpit

 

Time and Scheduling

Goal:
Help time manage and schedule your week.

Prompt:
I have classes at these times: [Mon 10-12 Chem] etc.
I concentrate best 9-11 a.m.

Plan a week that includes 10h of study, cooking dinner, and 3 exercise sessions.
Return as a table.

 

Tiimo - an app that creates schedules, visual timelines and task timers: https://www.tiimoapp.com

Rhythm, Insight, Play - a method of using Voice Chat in ChatGPT to plan your day: Link to resource

Week Planner - a custom GPT I made to help create weekly schedules: http://tiny.cc/time-sandpit

 

Working Memory

Goal:
Help manage lecture content and notes.

Otter.ai - transcribes lecture content through audio recording: https://otter.ai/home

NotebookLM - a free tool from Google to manage study notes: https://notebooklm.google

 

For other techniques to help with working memory, these ideas can help too:

Prompt:

Summarise this text into a 5-bullet cheat-sheet, each bullet less than 12 words. Keep all technical terms.
[Paste your notes]

Then, you could say -
Add an example for each concept.

Give me a memory tricks to help recall the five key ideas.


Metacognition

Goal:
Help me start tasks when I’m feeling unmotivated. Give me tips to finish tasks.

Prompt:
Pretend I’m a secret agent…

Help create a scenario where I am motivated to find the instructions for my next project.

Keep it simple to help me quickly get into the mood.
Give me tips to help me solve the mission.

 

Or, if you’d like a prompt to help you ‘think’ about your ‘thinking’ to improve your study techniques:

Prompt:
Pretend you’re my daily debrief bot. Ask me three reflective questions about today’s study, then wait for my answers.
After I reply, give me a one-paragraph pep-talk and one improvement tip.

 

Emotional Regulation

Goal:
Help me pace myself across the day so I don’t burn out.

Spoon Theory:
Spoon Theory illustrates how to manage our daily energy, or "spoons", across everyday tasks.
This is a calculator I have made to help plan your ‘spoons’ across the day -

Also, you might like to use these prompts to help with staying calm and centred across the day:

Prompts:
Guide me through a 90-second 5-4-3-2-1 sensory grounding.

Give me a 2-minute box-breathing script with silent counts and one mental mantra.

Create a two-step ritual I can do quietly at my desk to shift from anxious → focused in under 60 seconds.

Ask me nightly for one thing that went well; store them in a running numbered list I can copy-paste later.