Can a phone app boost therapy for kids with behavioral issues?
NCT ID NCT07042347
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a smartphone app called Footsteps that helps school aides track behaviors of children aged 4-17 with conditions like autism, ADHD, or oppositional defiant disorder. The goal is to see if the app improves how consistently and accurately aides record data, and whether that leads to better communication with supervisors and improved youth mental health. About 200 participants (aides and supervisors) will use either Footsteps or a basic data-collection app for 12 weeks.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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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
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About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Aides must be working with at least one client in school who meets the following criteria: 1) between 3-17 years, 2) has a diagnosis associated with a challenging behavior (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder) as indicated on their treatment plan, and 3) receiving 1:1 aide support. * Supervisors must be employed by a community behavior health agency and supervise a participating aide. The investigators will recruit supervisors in dyads and not triads (i.e., no supervisors with two \[or more\] aides) to ensure there are 30 supervisor-aide dyads in total). Exclusion Criteria: * Aides who participated in the pilot trial of the Footsteps will be excluded from participating to recruit a sample naïve to Footsteps and the control app.
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
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