Fitness, Autism, and the Future of AI: How MoveMuse Fits the Mold By: Michelle Zeman

 Group of special needs girls showing team spirit

Above is an image of several people sitting in a circle, each wearing a different-colored shirt. Most of the people in the image are smiling and have their hands extended towards the middle of the circle.


In September 2024, GemmoAI and the University of Limmerick launched the MoveMuse chatbot—a tool designed to help adults with Autism become more physically active. Through the application, it utilizes a method called “WOOP” - Wish (what you want to do), Outcome (how you’ll feel), Obstacle (what might stop you), and Plan (how to overcome the problem).

 

When I read this article, I found it interesting because I’ve seen applications that use different methods for weight loss. However, I hadn’t quite seen an application like this - one that provides this level of encouragement or planning. Many applications I see offer general exercises and diets that may help with weight loss, but they don’t necessarily have something that works for me.

 

If you know me, you know that I hate exercise. When I was in college, I lost roughly 70 pounds; however, I was too caught up in the number on the scale. I had anxious thoughts about what I was eating, how much I ate, and how often I exercised. I even exercised so rigorously at one point that I ended up getting a knee injury (tendonitis) - and I didn’t want to rest. Because of these obsessive thoughts about exercise and weight loss, I look at applications like this and wonder, “How could this application be beneficial to someone like me?”

 

With this being a beta version, I have a few questions for the creators:

  1. How can someone who has obsessive thoughts surrounding exercise be open to trying an application like this?
  2. Can the MoveMuse chatbot adapt to users who have a complicated relationship with exercise, where the goal isn’t JUST about “doing more” but instead what makes a user feel safe and healthy?
  3. Can the MoveMuse chatbot distinguish between motivation driven by anxiety and genuine self-care?

 

I am hopeful that tools like the MoveMuse chatbot will shift how we think about physical activity - not as punishment and only tied to a number on a scale, but as a way to build habits that feel achievable, flexible, and personalized. This is crucial for not only someone like me, but also adults with Autism who have held stigma towards weight.

 

I hope that developers who want to create more applications like this look at designing and developing them with a compassionate, mental-health focus. It could help redefine our relationship with movement.

 

Resources: https://disabilityinsider.com/2024/09/03/technology/ai-chatbot-to-help-adults-with-autism-get-more-active/

 

 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sad Times in Ocala, Florida Reflect Overall Poor Treatment of The Disabled Community in America Today

 The movie-going experience has been part of American life for decades now. At the same time, being disabled has also been a part of the human experience since the beginning of time. This piece will address the idea that although we are thirty-four years into the ADA era, movie theaters in Ocala, Florida, demonstrate how little respect people with disabilities have earned in thirty-four years. Over the weekend, I was treating my friend/caregiver, who I will call Jane, on a trip to the movies for her 24 th birthday. She was nice enough to not only drive my van for only the 10 th time since she started working with me but also because my power wheelchair broke several weeks ago and there was a delay in the delivery process of my new chair; she was willing to push me around. The first of many problems we encountered that day occurred when we got to the front door. It was only then we noticed that even though disabled people do go to places by themselves without caregivers or atten...
Read more

Life Behind the Camera: Observing the Neurotypical World from the Autism Spectrum By: Michelle Zeman

Image
  Imagine that you are a photographer covering a story. You aren't the story's subject - your only purpose is to zoom in, adjust the settings, and click the button. The subject(s) of the photo are the story - they know what to expect and how to respond given the situation. However, you're not in the picture as the photographer - you're just observing. You aren't asked to be in the photo, let alone be involved in the story, outside of clicking the button. You see the final image, and you publish it online, and when people see it, they comment on the people within the photo and the event that occurred. That is what life is like from my perspective of being on the Autism spectrum - I am on the outside looking into neurotypical life.   Growing up, I didn't have many friends. In elementary school, I went to a Christian school. You would be incorrect if you think a Christian school is different from a public school in terms of how friendships are created. There w...
Read more

The Movie “Conclave” Makes Me Rethink the Concept of Acceptance and How It Applies to My Own Life: By Jason Hahr

This post comes with a note to readers. This may or may not make complete sense. This post comes from a perspective of being stuck in my head. As much as I use this blog to teach and inform, this time, I am using it as a therapy tool as well. When I ask you, the readers, a question, please know that I am questioning you and my own subconscious. Now that I have said all of that, here we go. Initially, I was going to write a post about a movie I recently saw called “Conclave.” On the surface, the film has nothing to do with disability or disability-related issues. Still, if one looks deeper, one can see that the movie is about both self-acceptance and being accepted by others. I will not go into the movie's plot because, like I said, this is not a film review. I only reference it because it got me thinking. For eleven years now, I’ve been an outspoken voice for The Voiceless Minority, of which I am a member. However, I wonder if I have been an adequate advocate for people with disabi...
Read more