AI for Students With Learning Needs: Adapted Texts and Tasks

Use AI to create clearer texts, step-by-step instructions and audio versions for students with learning needs - without sharing their personal or health data.

By Piotr Olszewski8.11.20266 min read

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When you prepare materials for students with learning needs, AI is most useful as a generator of adapted versions: a simplified text, instructions broken into steps, a worksheet with more spacing or an audio version. The key rule is simple: describe the support needed, never the student. A diagnosis or other information from a professional report may be sensitive health data. A teacher should decide what adaptations are appropriate and check that they preserve the learning goals.

This guide is part of our AI in education series for teachers and special education professionals. Updated October 12, 2026. This is an overview, not legal advice. For general guidance on using AI to prepare tests and lessons, see AI for tests and AI lesson plans; here, the focus is adapting materials.

Rules that set boundaries

Protect sensitive information. Under Article 9(1) of the GDPR, health data are a special category of personal data, and processing them is generally prohibited unless an exception under Article 9(2) applies. A diagnosis, a professional report or information about an illness may count as health data.

The practical takeaway: AI should not decide what support a student needs, and you should not upload professional reports. Give it the lesson material and a general description such as “the student needs shorter sentences and step-by-step instructions.” That gives the model useful direction without identifying the student.

What AI can do well when adapting materials

Need, described generally	What to ask AI for	What to check
Reading difficulties, such as dyslexia	Shorter sentences, bold key words, a glossary of difficult terms and numbered instructions	Whether the simplified version still covers the required learning goals
Difficulty concentrating	A task split into 3-5 steps, with space to tick them off, and shorter blocks of text	Whether the steps can be completed in order
Limited proficiency in the language of instruction	A simplified text plus a glossary in the student’s language	Whether subject-specific terms are translated accurately
Slower writing speed	A test with fewer questions but the same learning goals	Whether every goal is still assessed
Advanced learning needs	An extension task, open-ended problem or mini-project	Whether the activity still fits the lesson
Learning better by listening	An audio version; NotebookLM, now Gemini Notebook, can create audio summaries in Polish	Whether the summary accurately reflects the source material

How to adapt a classroom resource step by step

Start with the standard version. The material for the whole class is your starting point. An adaptation is a variation, not a separate lesson.
Turn recommendations into a list of support needs. Use a professional report to identify recommendations for your own planning, such as “extra time” or “shorter instructions.” Give the chat only the list of adaptations - not the diagnosis, student’s name or class.
Provide the material and the list of adaptations. Ask for a version that preserves the lesson’s goals and requirements.
Ask for a goal-by-goal comparison. Have the model list where each goal from the standard version appears in the adapted version. If any goal is missing, the adaptation may have removed important content.
Check how the page will print. Consider a sans-serif font, more spacing and fewer elements per page. The model can suggest a layout, but you will need to format it in an editor.
Offer students a choice when possible. Make reading and listening versions available to anyone who wants them. A student need not be the only one with a different worksheet.
Record what you did, not which tool you used. Document the support provided in the usual way. The tool used to prepare a worksheet does not change the support itself.

Where AI cannot help - and may cause harm

Diagnosis. Asking “Is this dyslexia?” or “Does this student have ADHD?” is not a task for a chatbot. A qualified professional should make a diagnosis; a teacher can raise concerns through the appropriate school channels.
Information about a student. Do not paste behaviour reports, student work bearing their name or notes from conversations with parents.
Assessing progress. The EU AI Act classifies systems intended to evaluate learning outcomes as high-risk (Annex III, point 3). Emotion recognition in educational institutions has been prohibited since February 2, 2025 (Article 5(1)(f)). Avoid apps that promise to “analyse student emotions.”
Oversimplifying. A simplified text should still teach the same content. One common risk is that a model removes a difficult but required concept.
Unsupervised student use. ChatGPT accounts require users to be at least 13; users under 18 need parental permission. Claude is for adults only. In primary school, using phones during lessons may be restricted by school rules and teacher decisions.

Copy-and-paste prompt

Translation of the original Polish test prompt: the prompt below is translated from the Polish version; it is not a new English-language test.

You are a [subject] teacher and a specialist in adapting learning materials. Prepare an adapted version of the material below for [class or grade].

Adaptations (do not include student data): [for example, sentences of up to 12 words, instructions broken into steps, key words in bold, a glossary of 5 difficult terms, fewer tasks but the same goals].

Guidelines:
- preserve all lesson goals and concepts required by the curriculum: [list them],
- do not add content that is not in the material,
- suggest a print layout (font, spacing, number of elements per page).

At the end, provide a table: goal from the standard version | where it appears in the adapted version. If a goal is missing, say so clearly.

MATERIAL:
[paste the material for the whole class]

Which account should you use?

Consider a school account: Gemini for Education, available in Google Workspace for Education editions (Google says the data are not used to train models), or Copilot Chat with an A1, A3 or A5 licence. In a personal ChatGPT account, turn off “Improve the model for everyone” in Data controls or use Temporary Chat. With a properly anonymised prompt like the example above, you are not sending personal data to the tool. For more on data protection and AI at school, see our guide to GDPR and AI in schools; for assessment in the early grades, see AI-assisted descriptive assessment.

Frequently asked questions

Can I paste a professional report into ChatGPT and ask it to list the recommendations?

No. A report may contain health data, a special category of personal data under Article 9 of the GDPR. Identify the recommendations yourself and give the chat only a list of adaptations.

Can AI help a student with dyslexia?

Yes. You can use it to prepare shorter, clearer texts and audio versions. It does not replace specialist support or professional recommendations.

Are AI-generated adaptations allowed?

What matters is whether the adaptation meets the student’s needs and preserves the required learning goals. The teacher remains responsible for checking the content.

Which free AI tools can help simplify texts?

A free chat tool on a school account, such as Gemini for Education or Copilot Chat, can help adapt text. NotebookLM, now Gemini Notebook, can create audio versions from your own materials. Khanmigo offers free tools for teachers, including support in Polish.

Can a student with learning needs use AI in class independently?

That depends on school rules and the teacher’s decision. If students are allowed to use AI, a school account and a learning mode that guides them with questions rather than giving ready-made answers may be preferable.

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Piotr Olszewski

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