Autistic teenager creates artificial intelligence but 'can't get school place'

An autistic 13-year-old girl who has had to be educated at home for a year has created her own artificial intelligence.

It took Kari Lawler only a week to build her own virtual assistant, which operates on the same lines as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa.

Yet, her parents say they are struggling to find her a school place, blaming a lack of understanding of the condition.

Kari was a pupil at Castle Bromwich Junior School, but the autism diagnosis at the age of 11 turned her school life upside down.

It came while Kari was preparing for the move to Park Hall Academy, Castle Bromwich.

As an autistic child, she was unable to partake in a number of group activities.

Parents Brett and Leanne pulled her out of the academy 12 months ago and this week met education chiefs in a bid to find a school for their daughter.

44-year-old Brett says:

Tutors who visit Kari at her Castle Bromwich home say they feel she is ready to sit GCSEs now.

Kari excels at English, maths and science – but even Brett has been surprised by her latest invention.

Kari now wants to expand her prototype and feels the human interaction it offers could help dementia sufferers.

Her dad adds: