Evaluating the Feasibility of Collecting User Interaction Data at the Emory Autism Center Using MapHabit Software

September 29, 2026 updated by: Patricia Aguayo, Emory University

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the MapHabit System on autistic transition-age youth (ages 18-24) as they navigate key life transitions including graduating from high school, entering adult services, pursuing employment or education, and community-based living.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This study aims to evaluate whether the MAPHabit System can improve functional ability and quality of life in autistic transition-age young adults (ages 18-30) during key life transitions by teaching skills and providing cognitive support. MAPHabit is a daily living support app to help individuals, caregivers, and families build routines and increase independence.

The study will recruit at Emory Autism Center (Georgia) 140 autistic young adults ages 18-30 who are navigating transitions such as graduating high school, entering adult services, pursuing employment or education, and community-based living. Each participant will be in the study for 6 months.

The study uses a single-arm, pre-post design where participants complete some outcome assessments at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months while using the MapHabit visual mapping intervention.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
140

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322
        • The Emory Clinic

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 24 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 -24 years old at time of enrollment
  • Documented diagnosis of Autism, confirmed through prior clinical evaluation and diagnostic reports
  • Ability to provide informed consent independently or availability of legally authorized representative

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children
  • Inability to provide consent or lack of availability of a legally authorized representative
  • Active crisis requiring intensive intervention

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: MapHabit System Arm

Participants will use the MapHabit System for 6 months to help them accomplish activities of daily living and build independent habits.
Behavioral: MapHabit System (MHS)

The MapHabit System (MHS) is a commercially available visual mapping software application that utilizes visual, audio, and text media to create step-by-step visual guides to help participants accomplish activities of daily living (ADL) and build independent habits. The goal of the application is to develop and facilitate habits and routines using structured visual and auditory stimuli that can be customized by the user and can include educational and lesson-based material in addition to ADLs. It will be delivered using mobile application (iOS/Android tablets provided to participants) and/or printed materials.

Other Names:
  • Investigational Digital Intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Quality of life as assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF, a 26-item self-report questionnaire measuring physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental domains. Domain scores are transformed to a scale ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Psychological distress as assessed by the DASS-21, a 21-item self-report measure of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Total scores range from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating greater psychological distress and symptom severity.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention
Modified American Institutes for Research (AIR) Self-Determination Scale Total Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Assessed by a modified AIR Self-Determination Scale evaluating self-determination capacity and opportunity, including autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and goal-directed behavior, with additional items related to employment and educational outcomes. The overall self-determination score is reported as a percentage from 0% to 100%, with higher scores indicating greater self-determination.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention
Number of participants based on Vocational and Educational Participation Status
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Participation in employment, vocational training, educational programs, volunteer activities, and other structured weekly activities as assessed by a vocational and educational interview. This outcome includes the number of participants engaged in each activity category at the assessment time point.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention
Number of Participants by Reliable Change Index (RCI) Classification
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

The RCI will be used to classify participants as improved, unchanged, or deteriorated based on meaningful change from baseline.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
MapHabit Application Use Frequency
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Frequency of visual map use will be reported per participant by MapHabit system analytics. Higher values indicate greater use of the intervention.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention
MapHabit Activity Adherence
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Adherence to planned activities supported by the MapHabit application as measured by MapHabit system analytics. Adherence will be assessed based on participant completion and use patterns recorded within the platform. Higher adherence values indicate greater engagement with intervention-related activities.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention
Number of Maps Accessed or Created in MapHabit
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Participant engagement with the MapHabit system as measured by the total number of visual maps created and/or accessed during the study period, as captured through automated backend analytics. Higher values indicate greater platform utilization.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention
Time Spent Using the MapHabit Application
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Total duration of use of the MapHabit application during the study period, measured through automated backend analytics and reported in minutes per day.
Baseline, 3 and 6 months post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Emory University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Patricia Aguayo, MD, Emory University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 29, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 29, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2025P013877

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data underlying the results reported in published articles.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Start: 12 months after publication of the primary results. If primary results are not published within 24 months of study completion, data will become available 24 months after study completion. End: 5 years after the start date.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

  • Data will be shared with qualified investigators at research institutions whose institution can execute a data use agreement, and who hold IRB approval or a formal exemption/non-human-subjects determination for the proposed secondary analysis.
  • For any methodologically sound proposal consistent with the consent participants provided, including replication of published analyses, secondary analyses of the study measures, and inclusion in individual-participant-data meta-analyses. Prohibited uses include any attempt at re-identification, redistribution to third parties, and commercial or marketing use.
  • Data will be deposited with [the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)] as a restricted-use collection. Requests will be reviewed and administered by the repository, with access provided through its secure environment. The study team will not adjudicate requests individually. The dataset DOI will be added to this registration record upon deposit.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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