Writing Aids for Neurodiverse People

cherrystark 2023-09-20 03:08:05 UTC #1

Warning: This post is about AI, so if that's not your thing - respectfully, please move on.

I've been exploring more into the world of AI writers, and I've been surprised about how many people with disabilities are using AI in their writing. Most programs are not simply entering a prompt and the program writes you a full novel. Writers still have to go through the entire writing process to finish their stories.

Here are a few things people with disabilities have used AI for:

Creating character lists that include things like: name, age, and ethnicity
Creating outlines based on common writing methods such as Save the Cat, Heroic Journey, and Romancing the Beat.
Creating a rough first draft of a chapter (this is big for when all you have is a rough concept of what comes next.)
Rephrasing tool to help you add more detail or combat the dreaded "show not tell" advice.
Feedback - this is a newer feature, but a lot of programs off feedback on selections so you can get a clear idea of what "works" and a list of points you need to fix.

This thread isn't a place for negativity. I know a lot of differently abled people who are using AI and it's saving them a lot of mental stress and making the process more enjoyable. Like I said before, the writers still have to do the legwork to make their stories good, but it levels the playing field for a lot of people.

NickRowler 2023-09-20 03:27:01 UTC #2

Neurotypical isn’t really a thing. If you mean people who don’t have ADHD or Autism, just say it. I have neurological issues that make me twitchy, but that has zero effect on my ability to write.

I am pretty sure everyone just used the same resources. People with dyslexia might get aide from programs that check spelling and grammar but people who aren’t dyslexic can use these programs to pick up mistakes they missed.

cherrystark 2023-09-20 03:38:49 UTC #3

I did not say that people without ADHD or Austim couldn't use it. People use accessibility aids that weren't designed for them in mind all the time. Neurodiversity literally refers to diversity of all people, but is commonly used as a category for people with all types of learning, neurological, and development conditions. My original point was that people with all types of disabilities have been using AI to make the creation process easier for them.

Ordinaryaverageguy 2023-09-20 05:22:16 UTC #4

Did you mean neurodivergent or neurotypical?

cherrystark 2023-09-20 14:04:21 UTC #5

I fixed my mistake. Thank you

NickRowler 2023-09-20 14:30:04 UTC #6

I think I was confused by your original title but your new one doesn’t fix it.

Neurodiversity isn’t the same as having a disability. It’s a phenomenon used to describe that all people in the world have a unique brains that work in their unique ways. I feel like it has been misappropriated by groups of people who don’t really understand what the term means.

As someone who struggles with mental health and other neurological issues, it just annoys me that people try to lump all disabilities into a monolith.

cherrystark 2023-09-20 15:13:23 UTC #7

I understand your frustration, but mental health professionals use the terms "neurodiverse" and "neurodiversity", hence my word choice. Even if one has a learning disability, it's still a disability.