Effectiveness of IMPUTE ADT-1 mobile application in children with autism spectrum disorder: An interim analysis of an ongoing randomized controlled trial.
A 12-week AI-powered ABA app sent home with families produced large drops in ADOS-2 scores for toddlers and preschoolers with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
PCummings et al. (2024) tested a phone app called IMPUTE ADT-1. The app gives ABA lessons families can use at home.
Kids with autism used the app plus their usual therapy for 12 weeks. The study is still running, so these are mid-trial numbers.
What they found
Children in the app group scored much lower on the ADOS-2. Lower scores mean fewer autism signs.
The gains showed up in total score and every sub-score. Standard care alone did not improve as much.
How this fits with other research
The app idea builds on Préfontaine et al. (2019). Their iSTIM app also cut stereotypy, but it used simple rules and needed tweaks before parents could run it alone.
Rodgers et al. (2021) pooled 491 preschoolers and saw only small adaptive gains after two years of clinic ABA. PK’s app shows faster, larger drops on ADOS-2. The difference is tech: the app gives daily, AI-guided practice at home, while the meta-analysis looked mostly at center-based hours.
Dababnah et al. (2025) ran a parent-only telehealth program and saw small parent-reported gains. PK adds child-level AI lessons and records big, direct assessment gains. Together the papers show tech can help, but child-facing tools may move the needle more than parent support alone.
Why it matters
You now have early proof that an ABA app, used at home, can sharply cut autism severity scores in just three months. If families wait months for clinic slots, sending this app home could start progress right away. Try pairing it with your current parent coaching and track ADOS-2 or social scores each month to see if the benefit holds.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Pick one family on your wait list, load the IMPUTE ADT-1 app on their phone, and schedule a weekly check to review the child’s ADOS-2 tracker.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
<h4>Objectives</h4>IMPUTE Inc., a software firm dedicated to healthcare technology, has developed a mobile medical application known as IMPUTE ADT-1 for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) based on the principle of applied behavior analysis.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>The primary objective of this trial was to compare the efficacy of add-on treatment with IMPUTE ADT-1 in children with ASD aged two to six years as compared to standard care alone for 12 weeks (in terms of change in Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule [ADOS-2] scores). The secondary objective of the study was to assess the compliance with IMPUTE ADT-1 among participants and also to evaluate the feedback of parents regarding IMPUTE ADT-1 at the end of 12 weeks. The application provides personalized programs tailored to each user's needs, and the program evolves based on the user's progress. It also utilizes face tracking, eye tracking, and body tracking to gather behavior-related information for each child and apply it in reinforcement learning employing artificial intelligence-based algorithms.<h4>Results</h4>Till the time of interim analysis, 37 and 33 children had completed 12-week follow-up in IMPUTE ADT-1 and control arm. At 12 weeks, as compared to baseline, change in social affect domain, repetitive ritualistic behavior domain, total ADOS-2 score, and ADOS-2 comparison score was better in the intervention group as compared to the control group (<i>P</i> < 0.001 for all). A total of 30 (81%), 28 (75%), and 29 (78%) caregivers in the IMPUTE ADT-1 group believed that the ADT-1 app improved their child's verbal skills, social skills, and reduced repetitive behavior, respectively.<h4>Conclusion</h4>IMPUTE ADT-1 mobile application has the efficacy to improve the severity of autism symptoms in children. Parents of these children also feel that the application is beneficial for improving the socialization and verbal communication of their children.
, 2024 · doi:10.25259/jnrp_599_2023