STTR Phase I: Developing a Technological Intervention to Improve Adolescent Executive Functioning

这一小企业技术转让第一阶段项目旨在促进学业成绩，高中毕业和大学和生活准备青少年（中学生到大学生）与执行功能（EF）缺陷。 EF缺陷存在于各种神经发育和医学疾病中，包括创伤性脑损伤，癫痫，注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD），最常见的儿童行为障碍，影响高达10%的青少年以及自闭症谱系障碍。 缺乏EF的年轻人很难完成任务，高中毕业率、大学入学率和大学毕业率都远低于国家标准。 此外，这些青少年遭受焦虑，抑郁，失业，物质使用和自杀的比率高于他们的同龄人没有EF赤字。 研究支持基于激励的行为EF补救缺陷人群。 但基于研究的EF补救支持的可用性是有限的。 拟议的技术旨在使学生能够发展所需的EF技能，以发挥其学术潜力并改善其生活成果。这项研究的更广泛的影响是收集丰富的数据，这些数据将促进科学和公众对技术的理解，作为促进执行功能缺陷青少年人群EF技能发展的一种手段。 拟议的第一阶段项目旨在使用以用户为中心的设计原则迭代开发基于应用程序的EF技术干预。 这项技术创新是以基于智能手机的应用程序的形式，使用游戏化和自动化来激励学生进行结构化的行为改变，学习时间和材料管理，规划，组织和激励技能，以便在他们的支持团队的帮助下完成工作。第一阶段的工作重点是三个目标。 首先，我们将评估用户当前的环境（EF补救方法和挑战），以验证我们的方法与用户的相关性，并在必要时进行优化，以实现最佳可用性（目标1）。 然后，我们将系统地评估技术干预的特点、可用性和可行性。并根据需要进行额外的软件设计修订，以促进成功采用（目标2）。 我们将开发一个应用程序创新的功能原型（目标3），为23 B美元的特殊教育软件市场量身定制。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Projects intends to promote academic achievement, high school graduation and college and life preparedness for adolescents (middle through college students) with Executive Function (EF) deficits. EF deficits are found in a variety of neurodevelopmental and medical disorders including Traumatic Brain Injury, Epilepsy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the most common childhood behavioral disorder affecting up to 10% of youth as well as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Youth with EF deficits struggle to get things done and have high school graduation, college matriculation and college graduation rates well below national norms. In addition, these adolescents suffer from anxiety, depression, job loss, substance use and suicide at higher rates than their peers without EF deficits. Research supports incentive-based behavioral EF remediation for deficient populations. But availability of research-based EF remediation support is limited. The proposed technology aims at enabling students to develop the EF skills needed to reach their academic potential and improve their life outcomes. The broader impact of this research is to gather rich data that will advance the scientific and public understanding of technology as a means of facilitating EF skills development in adolescent populations with Executive Function deficits. The proposed Phase I project aims to iteratively develop an app-based EF technological intervention using user-centered design principals. This technology innovation is in the form of a smart phone based app that uses gamification and automation to motivate students to make structured behavior change to learn the time and materials management, planning, organizational and motivation skills to get their work done with help of their support team. This Phase I project will focus on 3 Aims. First, we will assess users' current context (EF remediation approaches and challenges) to validate user relevance of our approach and refine where necessary for optimal usability (Aim 1). We will then systematically evaluate the features, usability and feasibility of the technology intervention?and make additional software design revisions as needed to promote successful uptake (Aim 2). And we will develop a functional prototype of the app innovation (Aim 3) tailored to the $2.3 B Special Education software market.