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\nTechnology and equity in special education: The transformative role of artificial intelligence  \nCelia Gallardo Herrerias 1*  \n 0000-0001-5515-1269  \n1 Universidad de Almeria, Almeria, SPAIN  \n*  \nCorresponding author: [cgh188@inlumine.ual.es](cgh188@inlumine.ual.es)  \nCitation: Gallardo Herrerias, C. (2026) . Technology and equity in special education: The transformative role of artificial intelligence. Contemporary Educational Technology, 18(2), Article ep657. [https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/18561](https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/18561)  \nARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT  \n\n| Received: 2 Jan 2026\u003Cbr>Accepted: 29 Apr 2026 | The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI)-mediated interventions, namely the Story Spark and TEAMIGO tools, in facilitating the development, maintenance, and generalization of social communication skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) students. Participants included children and young adolescents with an established ASD diagnosis and co-occurring alexithymia, along with varying cognitive impairment levels. A longitudinal latent growth curve model methodology was employed over the course of six months, including a three-month intervention period and a subsequent three-month follow-up period to assess the maintenance of the skills. Quantitative results showed that the social development scores had a statistically significant positive growth rate, which included significant improvements in vocal expression of emotions and the reduction of low-quality utterances. Piecewise modeling was used to validate that these gains were statistically retained in the maintenance phase, and a strong positive correlation with real-world observation scores (inventory of social development-generalization) was obtained to validate the ability of AI to generalize skills to naturalistic settings such as classrooms and playgrounds. This illustrates the importance of AI as a predictable safe haven that fosters educational equity through its use of digital scaffolding.\u003Cbr>Keywords: education, social inclusion, artificial intelligence, teaching |\n| --- | --- |\n| INTRODUCTION |  |\n\nThe ubiquity of technology in contemporary life, along with the increasing variety of applications that cater to the specific educational requirements of individuals, has created immense interest in the utilization of complex systems that employ artificial intelligence (AI) for the facilitation of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) . The domain of inclusive education has recognized the potential of AI as an agent of change that can facilitate the creation of equitable solutions for students with special educational needs (Baker, 2000; Melo-López et al., 2025; Rizos et al., 2024) . Research has also emphasized the facilitation of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as the disorder is marked by the presence of core impairments in social communication, as well as difficulties in reciprocal social interaction, along with restricted patterns of behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) . The emotional deficiencies of individuals with ASD are also commonly accompanied by the presence of alexithymia, a common phenomenon observed in the NDD population, as they lack the capacity to recognize or express personal as well as external feelings.  \nThe traditional therapeutic interventions designed to enhance the social skills of an individual have shown considerable challenges in offering effective support, which has a general positive impact on the individual’s life. Individuals with ASD have difficulty processing crucial social skills, such as the prosodic quality of speech, and the uncertainty of human interaction can cause anxiety, which may result in social withdrawal; therefore, there is an imperative need to develop new, non-threatening interventions using digital scaff","cbCailag40RFkqjo","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailag40RFkqjo","pdf",244584,"English","# Introduction\n# Literature Review\n## Conversational Agents and Speech-Based Artificial Intelligence","[{\"question\":\"What was the main purpose of the study?\",\"answer\":\"To evaluate the effectiveness of AI-mediated interventions (Story Spark and TEAMIGO) in developing, maintaining, and generalizing social communication skills in ASD students.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the study conducted over time?\",\"answer\":\"Using a longitudinal latent growth curve model across six months, with a three-month intervention period followed by a three-month follow-up to assess maintenance.\"},{\"question\":\"What outcomes were reported regarding social communication skills?\",\"answer\":\"Quantitative results indicated a statistically significant positive growth rate, improved vocal expression of emotions, fewer low-quality utterances, and retention of gains during the maintenance phase.\"}]","Technology and equity in special education - The transformative role of artificial intelligence - Research Article | PDF",1792088907,25]