New York. The ‘iBehavior’ smartphone app can prove to be very effective by accurately using data from clinical trials involving intellectually challenged people. This assessment has come out through the research of researchers. The most common genetic causes of intellectual disability are Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome.

“iBehavior uses a new smartphone app to help track symptoms related to executive function, which is often associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),” said researchers from the University of California-Davis Health in the US.

“It’s a really smart use of technology and it can help with the accuracy of measurements in clinical trials,” said David Hessel, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the UC Davis Mind Institute.

The study will focus on children and young adults with intellectual disabilities.

“Most diagnostic testing focused on people with intellectual disabilities relies on a parent or caregiver questionnaire,” Hessel said.

“The app uses what we call ecological momentary assessment, where a parent or teacher observes a child or young adult and provides a time rating of the behavior.”

Families will be given training on how to use the app and what behavior to observe.

The app will send a text when it’s time for them to start watching their child or young adult, they’ll observe for two hours, then they’ll get another text saying it’s time to record what they saw.

They will record information about behavior related to aggression and irritability, hyperactivity and impulsivity, attention problems, anxiety.

There is currently no cure for fragile X syndrome, it is only treatment.

The researchers hope that the app will improve assessment of a child’s behavior before, during and after treatment, as well as improve assessment of potential targeted therapies. (IANS)

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