Co-creating the Stress Autism Mate (SAM): development of an mHealth application for autistic adults using a design thinking approach

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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van Asselt, A. & Roke, Y. (2025). Co-creating the Stress Autism Mate (SAM): development of an mHealth application for autistic adults using a design thinking approach. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 13(1), 2597607-2597607. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2025.2597607

Journal or book title
Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
2597607-2597607
Article number
2597607
Publication date: 7 Dec 2025 Added to AutiHub: 6 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Alvin van Asselt *
  2. Yvette Roke

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) applications are becoming increasingly popular for delivering mental health support, yet insights on how to tailor them effectively for autistic individuals remain limited. METHODS: This paper describes the co-creation process of the Stress Autism Mate (SAM), a free, evidence-based stress management application for autistic adults. RESULTS: Development was guided by the five stages of the Design Thinking framework: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Various challenges encountered over seven years of development are outlined, along with the iterative refinements made to address them. Based on continuous feedback from autistic adults, development emphasised a minimalist, predictable interface, essential personalisation options, and stress-related insights readily applicable to daily life. DISCUSSION: The lessons learned may offer practical guidance for designing tailored mHealth applications for autistic adults and other populations with specific needs or preferences.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 17:07.

Cited references
41
With a DOI
32
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
9
3 / 41 (7.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 41 (7.3%)
References with detected author names
38 / 41 (92.7%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
9
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
156
From DOI or external metadata
156
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
6
43 / 156 (27.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 113 / 156 (72.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
5 / 156 (3.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 5 / 43 (11.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 5 / 148 (3.4%).
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