Can a smartphone app boost brainpower in autistic teens?
NCT ID NCT04562688
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tested a digital app called CICADAS, designed to improve thinking skills in teenagers with autism. Sixty-eight teens aged 11-18 used the app for up to 40 hours, doing exercises that adapt to their ability. The goal was to see if the app is acceptable and easy to use, not yet to prove it works.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- digital cognitive training app (BrainHQ-based CICADAS)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a tool to help teens with autism improve attention, memory, and social thinking.
- What could go wrong
- This was a small, early-stage study (68 participants) focused on feasibility, not on proving the app works. It may not lead to clear benefits.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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
-
68 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Jun 2021
- Finished
-
Nov 2023
- Lead sponsor
-
A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
11 to 18 years
- 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 Hide 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: 1. Potential participant is between the age of 11 and 18 (inclusive) at the time of consent. 2. Potential participant has a clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as confirmed by medical/clinical records or standardized assessments/interviews (e.g., Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2) or Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised (ADI-R)). 3. Potential participant has an IQ Score \> 70 on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II) or a comparable measure in medical/clinical records. 4. Potential participant has normal or corrected to normal vision (20/20 or better; self/parent-reported. 5. Potential participant has normal hearing (self/parent-reported). 6. Potential participant is a fluent English speaker, based on participant and/or parent/legal guardian self-report and as determined by the screening clinician, to ensure reasonable neuropsychological results on key assessments. 7. Potential participant has adequate sensorimotor capacity to perform the intervention and study activities, including visual capacity adequate to read from a computer screen or mobile device at a normal viewing distance, auditory capacity adequate to understand normal speech, and motor capacity adequate to control and use a mobile device and/or computer, based on participant and/or parent/legal guardian self-report and as determined by the screening clinician and/or study team. 8. Potential participant must be clinically stable as a result of therapy or medication regimen for 4 weeks prior to enrolling into the study. 9. Potential participant has reliable access to the internet. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Potential participant has history of psychotic disorders and/or seizure disorder and/or seizure episodes within the last 2 years. 2. Potential participant has a motor/perceptual handicap that prevents digital device use, as determined by the screening clinician and/or study team. 3. Potential participant has problems in performing assessments or comprehending or following spoken instructions, as determined by the screening clinician and/or study team. 4. Potential participant has medical illnesses/genetic syndromes deemed to interfere with participation in study activities and/or unstable and/or untreated conditions that may affect cognition, including substance abuse/dependence disorders, ongoing chemotherapy or other cancer treatment. 5. Potential participant has a history of head trauma, traumatic brain injury, or other neurological disorder that impairs cognition 6. Potential adult participant scores less than a 14 (75%) on the University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC). Please note, this criteria applies only to adult participants, age 18, at the time of screening.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Autism spectrum disorder are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55454, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can wireless monitors make ER vitals easier for autistic children?
- Why do some children with autism struggle with balance?
- Brain zaps tested to calm emotional storms in autism
- Can an AI chatbot help autism caregivers find their way?
- Pregnancy and birth clues: what raises autism risk?
- Can virtual reality boost thinking skills in kids with autism?