The one test
Before you act on anything an AI tool tells you, ask three questions:
- Is it expensive if this is wrong? Money, benefits, a job, a school placement.
- Is it permanent? A signed document, a court filing, a missed deadline.
- Is it dangerous? Health, medication, safety.
If the answer to any of them is yes, use AI to prepare and a person to decide.
Where AI is genuinely good
Translating jargon. Paste in a paragraph from an IEP, an insurance letter or a benefits notice and ask, "Explain this in plain language." Ask what an acronym means. FAPE, LRE, SSI, HCBS. You get an answer at 2 AM without feeling dumb for asking.
Getting ready for a meeting. Ask for questions to bring to an IEP meeting, a doctor's appointment, a benefits interview or a first call with a lawyer. Walking in with a list changes the meeting.
First drafts. A records request. An email to a teacher. A request for an evaluation. A Letter of Intent. AI gets you past the blank page. You make it true.
Organizing. Turn a messy medication list into a clean table. Build a timeline of what happened and when. Sort a pile of documents into what matters now and what can wait.
Breaking big things down. "Do the guardianship paperwork" is a wall. "Find the form, call legal aid, gather three documents" is a Tuesday. Ask AI to break a task into steps small enough to start tonight.
Practicing hard conversations. Rehearse asking for an accommodation, telling a boss about a diagnosis, or saying no to someone who keeps pushing.
Where you need a human
A lawyer or legal aid for anything you sign or file. Wills, special needs trusts, guardianship, powers of attorney, disputes with a school district. AI can help you write your questions. It can't tell you what's valid in your state, and laws change.
A doctor, nurse or pharmacist for diagnosis, medication, dosing and anything where your body or your kid's body is on the line. Pharmacists answer questions for free, in person or by phone, and most people forget they can ask.
A therapist or counselor for grief, burnout, trauma and family conflict that keeps repeating. AI can help you name what you want to bring to a session. It doesn't know your history, and it isn't care.
A benefits expert before anything that touches SSI, SSDI or Medicaid. One wrong move, like money landing in the wrong account, can cost benefits that take months to get back.
An advocate when a school or agency says no and you think they're wrong. Every state has free help for this. See below.
A person, right now, in a crisis. Not AI. Call or text 988 any time, day or night. If talking feels impossible, texting works.
Free and low-cost humans first
You don't need money to get a person on your side.
- Your state's Parent Training and Information Center. Free help with IEPs, 504s and school disputes. In Colorado, that's PEAK Parent Center. Every state has one.
- Your state's Protection and Advocacy organization. Free legal help for disability rights. In Colorado, that's Disability Law Colorado.
- Legal aid. Free civil legal help if you qualify by income. In Colorado, Colorado Legal Services.
- Your local Arc chapter. Guidance and referrals for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
- Pharmacists. Free medication questions, no appointment.
- Law school and university clinics. Many offer free help with wills, guardianship and benefits.
- 988. Free, 24 hours, call or text.
If you don't have a stable address, a phone that's always on, or a family to help, these organizations still work with you. Say so on the first call.
How to use AI safely
Keep private details out. Don't paste Social Security numbers, account numbers, full names with diagnoses, or anything you wouldn't want stored on someone else's server. Swap in placeholders like "my son" or "[DOB]."
Check anything that matters. AI can sound sure and still be wrong. Dates, deadlines, dollar amounts and what the law says in your state get checked against the source.
Ask where it got that. If an answer matters, ask for the source, then go read it.
Your judgment wins. You know your family, your kid or yourself better than any tool. If an answer feels off, it probably is.
Try these
Copy these into any AI assistant and change the brackets.
- "Explain this paragraph from my [IEP / benefits letter / insurance denial] in plain language. Then tell me what questions I should ask about it: [paste]"
- "I have a meeting with [the school / a doctor / a lawyer] about [topic]. Give me ten questions to bring, most important first."
- "Break this into steps small enough that I could start one tonight: [task]."
- "Draft a short, firm email asking [school / agency] for [records / an evaluation / a meeting]. Keep it under 120 words."
- "Turn this list into a clean table with columns for medication, dose, time of day and prescriber: [paste]."
How NixIt fits
NixIt is built on the same line. The assistant you text breaks tasks down, drafts, reminds and keeps track. The decisions stay with you and the people you choose: your family, your coach, your doctor, your lawyer. You decide who sees what.