Nina Digital Assistant to Support Parents of Children With Autism in Russia

At the Rodnik Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center in the Tyumen Region, officials have launched a free autism navigation service featuring an AI assistant named Nina.

For families facing a new diagnosis, the online platform autizm.sotsialnykompas.rf provides guidance on adaptation and a child’s rehabilitation pathway. It explains what to do if autism is suspected, how to apply for disability status and access available benefits, and which organizations in a specific locality work with autism spectrum disorders.

Nina also functions as an AI assistant with a built-in knowledge base on autism spectrum disorders. The digital aide has been trained to respond to user inquiries and will continue learning from real-world requests to improve its usefulness.

Future Lies in AI-Powered Rehabilitation

Autism has become a growing focus in Russia, with AI technologies increasingly used for diagnosis and rehabilitation support. Earlier, researchers at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Higher School of Economics developed an application called VR Inclusion that helps children and teenagers with autism spectrum disorders practice key social and everyday skills in a safe virtual environment.

A communication tool for people with autism spectrum disorders and other cognitive differences has also been developed by a team in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The application Moi slova (My Words) is based on visual cards that users combine to build sentences. The app converts individual words and cards into grammatically correct phrases, while artificial intelligence processes input data to make communication more natural and fluid.