Mobile App-Based Intervention to Improve Toothbrushing in Children and Teens With Autism

Age

• Children with autism younger than age 8 years at enrollment.

Other

• An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in the study:
• Children with autism who cannot brush their teeth without assistance (e.g., if caregiver needs to hold the toothbrush).
• Children with autism who have a sibling enrolled in the trial. o For families with more than 1 eligible child with autism, we will enroll the youngest eligible child. Any other children from the same family who are not enrolled in the study will be given access to the app their sibling is using (experimental or control) after 3 months, if they are interested.

• Child participants will have Autism Spectrum Disorder that will be confirmed by: (1) chart review by clinical staff at the recruitment sites to determine if the child meets the DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder; OR (2) affirmative caregiver self-reporting: (YES) to the question, "Has a healthcare provider ever diagnosed your child with autism?" which has been used in previous studies as a valid method of identifying ASD in children.23,24
• Willingness to take the SRS-2 \[Social Responsiveness Scale-2\], which will be completed through an online link sent by University of Washington study staff.
• Child brushes independently. The child needs to be able to hold a toothbrush and move it around their teeth, mostly unassisted.
• Child uses touch screen devices (e.g., iPhone, iPad, Android).
• Ages 8 to 17 years at enrollment.
• Caregiver and child able to communicate in English.
• Caregiver age ≥18 years and able to provide informed consent to participate; and willing to provide assent on behalf of a child who is not capable of comprehending the assent process and materials.
• Children ages 8 and older willing to provide assent, if they can comprehend the assent process and materials and communicate a voluntary willingness to participate.
• Caregiver and child live in the same home.
• Caregiver must have a valid and active email address to receive study related materials and study related communications.
• Child has ready access to a mobile device with a front-facing camera onto which apps can be installed (iPad or iPhone with iOS 17.0+; Android tablet or phone with Android 14.0+).
• Family has a Wi-Fi or cellular data plan to allow app data to be transmitted with confirmation of via tools like the Ookla Speed Test to help problem solve and ensure that app data can be transmitted.