Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for Supporting the Education of Students with Special Educational Needs

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly recognized as a promising tool for supporting inclusive education and addressing the diverse learning needs of students with special educational needs (SEN). Its potential lies in facilitating content adaptation, personalized learning, differentiated instruction, multimodal access to information, and enhanced educational support. At the same time, international organizations emphasize that the implementation of AI should be guided by human-centered, ethical, and inclusive principles (UNESCO, 2021, 2023, 2024; OECD, 2024). This study explores educational professionals’ attitudes toward the use of AI in supporting students with SEN. The research involved 121 participants, including teachers, resource teachers, special educators, psychologists, speech and language therapists, and preschool teachers. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire examining digital readiness, previous experience with AI, perceived pedagogical opportunities, perceived risks, and readiness for implementation. The findings indicate generally positive attitudes toward AI. Participants identified content adaptation, individualized task design, differentiated instruction, and teacher support as the most valuable opportunities. A strong positive relationship was found between perceived pedagogical opportunities and readiness to implement AI, while perceived risks did not significantly reduce implementation readiness. Qualitative findings further revealed that participants view AI primarily as a tool for personalization and educational support rather than as a replacement for the teacher. The study concludes that the successful integration of AI in inclusive education depends on teacher preparedness, ethical governance, and the preservation of the teacher’s central role in the educational process.