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Researchers develop new AI tool that detects ‘emotional suffering’ in children

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Researchers develop new AI tool that detects ‘emotional suffering’ in children

Parents may soon better understand their children’s emotions through the use of a new artificial intelligence tool.

The technology developed by researchers can read speech patterns of young children and predict early signs of anxiety and depression.

A new study published in the Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics suggests a machine learning algorithm could help speed up the diagnosis and treatment for kids with signs of depression. To date, it is difficult for health care providers to spot mental issues in young people.

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Psychologists say children under the age of eight commonly can’t reliably articulate their emotional suffering. Such challenge to understand their mental state then contributes to the growing number of children with undiagnosed anxiety or depression.

“We need quick, objective tests to catch kids when they are suffering,” Ellen McGinnis, lead author of the study and a clinical psychologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families, said in a statement. “The majority of kids under eight are undiagnosed.”

Researchers said that early diagnosis of mental conditions is important since children respond well to treatment because their brains are still developing. But when left untreated, they are at risk of substance abuse and suicide later in life.

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