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Pai.ACT: a deep-learning-powered, smartphone-delivered, acceptance and commitment therapy for parents of children with special needs: a feasibility study

NCT ID NCT06086951

NEW Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Recruiting now
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Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

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Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
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Status unknown
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First seen Sep 10, 2026 · Last updated Sep 10, 2026

Summary

Limited psychological support for parents of children with special needs in Hong Kong can profoundly impact the child rehabilitation process and the well-being of parent-child dyads. Leveraging previous evidence from our team's research, we have developed Pai.ACT, the first deep learning-based mental health advisory system for parents. Pai.ACT incorporates the counselling logic of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) through natural language processing, enabling parents to engage in human-like voice-to-text conversations and receive assessments and stepped-care mental health interventions, including guided self-help materials and real-time, individual-based counselling based on ACT. Following the research and development phases, we aim to kick off the utilisation of Pai.ACT by (1) pilot-testing its feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy in improving mental health outcomes for parents of children with special needs and (2) researching to determine the most optimal service model for parents by exploring their perceptions through focus group interviews. Pai.ACT offers accessible and comprehensive mental health services to all Chinese-speaking parents, addressing their psychological burden in caring for children with special needs. Pai.ACT could bring substantial and enduring societal benefits to Chinese-speaking families by integrating mental health support services for family caregivers with current child rehabilitation services and non-governmental organisations. Furthermore, this could contribute to reducing the public stigma attached to special needs children while increasing mental health awareness.

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Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

60 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Oct 2023

Finished

May 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

19 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Primary caregivers who are Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents. * The caregiver must cohabitate with the child with special needs. * The child under the participant's care should be aged between 2-8 years. The child should be either diagnosed or suspected to have one of the developmental conditions such as ASD, ADHD, or DD. These conditions must be recognised by the Child Assessment Service of the Department of Health and conform to the DSM-5 criteria. The diagnosis or suspected diagnosis should be documented in the electronic medical record at the study hospital or the case profile record at the collaborating non-governmental organisations. Note: The age range of 2-8 years was selected due to the substantial impact of parenting on the developmental milestones of preschoolers and junior school-aged children. Exclusion Criteria: * Parents diagnosed with severe mental illnesses are excluded. * Parents who are currently pregnant are excluded. * Parents who are less than six months postpartum are excluded. * Parents with a developmental disability that interferes with their ability to comprehend the program's content are excluded. * Parents with cognitive, language, communication, visual, or hearing impairments or disorders that could impede their understanding of the intervention content are excluded. * Parents currently participating in other psychosocial, psychoeducational, or parenting interventions are excluded.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity Autism Spectrum Disorder Communication Disorders Intellectual Disability Motor Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders Specific Learning Disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Autism spectrum disorder Communication disorders Intellectual disability Motor disorders Neurodevelopmental disorders Specific learning disorder

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong

    Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  • The Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital

    Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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