Atlanta startup launches new A.I. technology to detect trauma in kids
ATLANTA — An Atlanta startup is on a mission to improve mental health for kids, using artificial intelligence to detect those who may be suffering in silence.
The new resource couldn't come at a better time, according to Ciara Green, who runs Family Ties, Inc. The group provides counseling services to around 6,000 families a year in Georgia, including services in more than 90 schools.
"We're dealing with a lot of anxiety, conduct disorders, depression," Green told 11Alive. "What we've seen, especially since the pandemic started, is a lot more of high intensity diagnoses."
Green and Jerome Dyson, director of clinical operations at Family Ties, believes much of what their clinicians are seeing is the effect of kids being so isolated during the pandemic.
"You saw an uptick in domestic violence," Dyson said. "You saw an uptick in child abuse. You saw an uptick in neglect."
But as therapists work with students, finding out which kids are at risk can be complicated.
"Diagnosing, quantifying problems, especially with children, is complicated," Dr. Yared Alemu, founder of TQ Intelligence, explained. "Even under the best circumstances, kids don't tell you what's going on."
Dr. Alemu, a trained psychologist, launched the startup to address the lack of data infrastructure in mental healthcare for low-resourced communities. His team's new digital health platform, Clarity AI, aims to support in-school clinicians and therapists in Georgia to better reach vulnerable kids.
