title: CONSORT-EHEALTH: Improving and Standardizing Evaluation Reports of Web-based and Mobile Health Interventions A randomised controlled trial of an iPad‐based application to complement early behavioural intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder A trial of an iPad™ intervention targeting social communication skills in children with autism Feature-level analysis of a novel smartphone application for smoking cessation Incorporating a Peer-Mediated Approach Into Speech-Generating Device Intervention: Effects on Communication of Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder. A Randomised Controlled Trial of an Information Communication Technology Delivered Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Living in Regional Australia A pilot community‐based randomized comparison of speech generating devices and the picture exchange communication system for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder An Evaluation of a Mobile Application Designed to Teach Receptive Language Skills to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Effect of a social script iPad application for children with autism going to imaging.
abstract: Background Web-based and mobile health interventions ( also called “ Internet interventions ” or " eHealth/mHealth interventions ") are tools or treatments , typically behaviorally based , that are operationalized and transformed for delivery via the Internet or mobile platforms . These include electronic tools for patients , informal caregivers , healthy consumers , and health care providers . The Consoli date d St and ards of Reporting Trials ( CONSORT ) statement was developed to improve the suboptimal reporting of r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) . While the CONSORT statement can be applied to provide broad guidance on how eHealth and mHealth trials should be reported , RCTs of web-based interventions pose very specific issues and challenges , in particular related to reporting sufficient details of the intervention to allow replication and theory-building . Objective To develop a checklist , dubbed CONSORT-EHEALTH ( Consoli date d St and ards of Reporting Trials of Electronic and Mobile HEalth Applications and onLine TeleHealth ) , as an extension of the CONSORT statement that provides guidance for authors of eHealth and mHealth interventions . Methods A literature review was conducted , followed by a survey among eHealth experts and a workshop . Results A checklist instrument was constructed as an extension of the CONSORT statement . The instrument has been adopted by the Journal of Medical Internet Research ( JMIR ) and authors of eHealth RCTs are required to su bmi t an electronic checklist explaining how they addressed each subitem . Conclusions CONSORT-EHEALTH has the potential to improve reporting and provides a basis for evaluating the validity and applicability of eHealth trials . Subitems describing how the intervention should be reported can also be used for non- RCT evaluation reports . As part of the development process , an evaluation component is essential ; therefore , feedback from authors will be solicited , and a before-after study will evaluate whether reporting has been improved BACKGROUND Technology-based interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder ( ASD ) have proliferated , but few have been evaluated within the context of a r and omised controlled trial ( RCT ) . This RCT evaluated the efficacy of one technology-based early intervention programme ( Therapy Outcomes By You ; TOBY ) in young children with ASD . METHODS TOBY is an app-based learning curriculum design ed for children and parents as a complement to early behavioural intervention . Eighty children ( 16 female ) were recruited to this RCT within 12 months of receiving a diagnosis of ASD ( M age = 3.38 ; SD = 0.69 ) and r and omised to receive either treatment-as-usual ( community-based intervention , n = 39 ) or the TOBY therapy ( at least 20 min/day ) plus treatment-as-usual ( n = 41 ) for a period of 6 months . Outcomes were assessed at 3 and 6 months postbaseline . ( Australian New Zeal and Clinical Trials Registry : ACTRN12614000738628 ; www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/ Registration /Trial Review .aspx?id=365463 ) . RESULTS Children in the TOBY intervention group averaged 19 min/day engaging with the app in the first 3 months , but only 2 min/day during the second 3 months . There was no group difference in scores on the primary outcome , the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist , at either the 3- or 6-month follow-up . However , significant improvements at the 6-month follow-up were observed in the TOBY intervention group relative to the treatment-as-usual group on three secondary outcomes : the Fine Motor and Visual Reception subscales of the Mullen Scale of Early Learning and the Total Words Understood scale of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Index . Statistical trends towards improvement in the TOBY intervention group were observed on measures of adaptive function , although these decreased in magnitude from the 3- to 6-month follow-up . CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that technology-based interventions may provide a relatively low-cost addition to existing therapist-delivered interventions for children with ASD . However , sustained use of the app over the full 6-month period was a challenge for most families This study evaluated a technology-based early intervention for social communication skills in pre-schoolers in a r and omised controlled trial . Participants were 54 children aged under 6 years with a diagnosis of autism , assigned to either intervention or control conditions . The app engaged children , who played consistently , regardless of developmental level , and was rated highly by parents . There were no significant group differences in parent-report measures post-intervention , nor in a measure of parent – child play at follow-up . Therefore , this intervention did not have an observable impact on real-world social communication skills and caution is recommended about the potential usefulness of iPad ™ apps for amelioration of difficulties in interaction . However , positive attitudes among participants , lack of harms and the potential of apps to deliver therapeutic content at low economic cost suggest this approach is worth pursuing further , perhaps targeting other skill domains Abstract Background : Currently , there are over 400 smoking cessation  smartphone apps available , downloaded an estimated 780,000 times per month . No prior studies have examined how individuals engage with specific features of cessation apps and whether use of these features is associated with quitting . Objectives : Using data from a pilot trial of a novel smoking cessation app , we examined : ( i ) the 10 most-used app features , and ( ii ) prospect i ve associations between feature usage and quitting . Methods : Participants ( n = 76 ) were from the experimental arm of a r and omized , controlled pilot trial of an app for smoking cessation called “ SmartQuit , ” which includes elements of both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ( ACT ) and traditional cognitive behavioral therapy ( CBT ) . Utilization data were automatically tracked during the 8-week treatment phase . Thirty-day point prevalence smoking abstinence was assessed at 60-day follow-up . Results : The most-used features – quit plan , tracking , progress , and sharing – were mostly CBT . Only two of the 10 most-used features were prospect ively associated with quitting : viewing the quit plan ( p = 0.03 ) and tracking practice of letting urges pass ( p = 0.03 ) . Tracking ACT skill practice was used by fewer participants ( n = 43 ) but was associated with cessation ( p = 0.01 ) . Conclusions : In this exploratory analysis without control for multiple comparisons , viewing a quit plan ( CBT ) as well as tracking practice of letting urges pass ( ACT ) were both appealing to app users and associated with successful quitting . Aside from these features , there was little overlap between a feature ’s popularity and its prospect i ve association with quitting . Tests of causal associations between feature usage and smoking cessation are now needed Purpose This study examined the effects of incorporating a peer-mediated approach into a speech-generating device ( SGD ) intervention on communication of 45 nonverbal and minimally verbal preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) and 95 peers without disabilities . The SGD was an iPad 2 ( Apple ) with voice output app . Method Effects were evaluated using a multivariate r and omized control trial design with repeated measures for 4 cohorts across baseline , intervention , generalization , and maintenance phases . Children were r and omly assigned to an experimental treatment that trained peers on use of the SGD or a business-as-usual comparison condition with untrained peers .  Communication outcomes were measured for both children with ASD and peers . Results Children receiving the treatment demonstrated significant increases in rates of communication and more balanced responses and initiations ( a measure of reciprocity ) than children in the comparison group . They were able to generalize improvements and maintain communication gains . Treatment fidelity was high for school staff and peer implementation . Conclusions Results support positive effects on communication of teaching young children with ASD and peers without disabilities to use the same SGD system in typical preschool activities . SGD interventions that utilize peer-mediated approaches may improve core deficits in communication and reciprocity and allow for greater classroom social participation and interactions with peers This exploratory r and omised controlled trial tested the effectiveness of a tablet-based information communication technology early intervention application to augment existing therapy with the aim of improving visual motor , imitation , language and social skills in young children with ASD who reside in regional areas . Fifty-nine participants were recruited and r and omised to either a therapy-as-usual group or intervention group . With the exception of the expressive language subscale on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning , no significant between-group differences were recorded for visual motor , imitation , receptive language and social skills of participants between baseline and post-intervention . When all participants were pooled and measured over time , improvements were shown in receptive and pragmatic language and social skills ; these gains were maintained , thus suggesting skill acquisition A pilot community‐based r and omized controlled trial was conducted to compare the effects of the Picture Exchange Communication System ( PECS ) to a teaching sequence using a high‐tech Speech Generating Device ( SGD ) to teach social communication behaviors . The two approaches were compared to evaluate the effectiveness of the newer , more high‐tech intervention using technology to improve social and communicative behavior of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder . A total of 35 school‐age children were r and omized to either a high‐tech ( SGD device ) or low‐tech ( PECS cards ) form of Augmentative and Alternative Communication ( AAC ) . Study participants received 4 months of communication training delivered in their classrooms , and the primary outcome measures of the trial were several functional communication skills emphasized in the PECS teaching sequence . Results indicated that both high‐tech and low‐tech AAC approaches result ed in significant improvements in communication , and that these improvements did not differ significantly between the two approaches . These findings support the use of high‐tech AAC , and highlight the need for evidence ‐based guidelines for its use as well as evaluation with individuals with a range impairments and disabilities . Autism Research 2018 , 11 : 1701–1711 . © 2018 International Society for Autism Research , Wiley Periodicals , The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a mobile application , Camp Discovery , design ed to teach receptive language skills to children with autism spectrum disorder based on the principles of applied behavior analysis . Participants ( N = 28 ) were r and omly assigned to an immediate-treatment or a delayed-treatment control group . The treatment group made significant gains , p < .001 , M = 58.1 , SE = 7.54 , following 4 weeks of interaction with the application as compared to the control group , M = 8.4 , SE = 2.13 . Secondary analyses revealed significant gains in the control group after using the application and maintenance of acquired skills in the treatment group after application usage was discontinued . Findings suggest that the application effectively teaches the targeted skills This r and omized controlled trial feasibility study tested the effectiveness of an iPad ® application ( app ) social script intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) going to imaging and their parent ( n=32 parent/child dyads ) . Parents of the children exposed to the app ( n=16 ) had lower state anxiety compared to the parents whose children were not exposed to the app ( n=16 ) ( effect size 0.33 ) . Children exposed to the app had fewer externalized challenging behaviors than the control group ( effect size 0.56 ) . The results demonstrate feasibility and efficacy of the intervention . Further study of the iPad app is warranted
target: Although it is still early to draw a conclusion , available studies are showing promise for use of mobile device apps for treatment of individuals with ASD .
background: OBJECTIVE The current study was performed to assess the evidence for effects of therapeutic intervention with mobile device applications ( apps ) for individuals with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) .