Development of a Parent-mediated Mobile App Intervention for Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Participating in an Adapted Horseback Riding Program

An exploratory sequential design will be used for the development and refinement of the parent-mediated mobile app. In this three-phase mixed-methods research design, priority will be given to the collection and analysis of the qualitative data in the first phase. Building from the exploratory results of the first phase, the investigator will then conduct a development phase to build the mobile-app intervention. Finally, in the third phase, the investigator will quantitatively assess the acceptability of the newly developed mobile-app intervention.

Qualitative phase:

• Focus group discussions with certified therapeutic riding instructors.
• A semi-structured individual interview will be conducted with parents.

During the focus group with certified therapeutic riding instructors and individual interviews with parents, the previously developed Fit Families app will be presented as a model. The focus group discussions and individual interviews for riding instructors and parents respectively, aim to gain an understanding of the content that will be incorporated into the new parent-mediated mobile app.

The technology acceptance model will guide these interviews and focus group discussions and will be conducted for 45-60 minutes. The technology acceptance model is comprised of four constructs: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes, and actual behaviors. Accordingly, the interview and focus group questions will focus on gaining feedback on aspects such as the user interface, time commitment, different types of games, activities, and homework activities prescribed to children with ASD participating in the adapted horseback riding sessions.

After the initial interviews with the parents and certified therapeutic riding instructors, an approximate time of 6 weeks will be assigned for the development phase. Mid-development interviews with therapeutic riding instructors will guide ongoing development and refine the design/games of the mobile app.

During a group 45-60 minute long training session with the major stakeholders (parents and riding instructors), the fully developed version of the "mobile-app intervention" will be presented. The investigator will train the parents on how to use the mobile app and also answer any questions they might have regarding the usage of the app.

The parents will then be instructed to use the app for two weeks. During this usage period, parents will partake in the games and activities of the app with their children with ASD in their home/community settings.

Similarly, during the training session with the certified therapeutic riding instructors, the mobile app will be presented to understand their perceptions and gain feedback on the first full version of the mobile app intervention.

Quantitative phase:

Upon completion of the 2 weeks implementation period of the newly developed mobile app intervention, parents of children with ASD will be provided with a Qualtrics survey to understand the usability of the app. The parents will be asked to complete a System Usability Scale survey within one week of receiving it.

Inclusion criteria

Parents of children with ASD participating in adapted horseback riding sessions at Three Gaits Inc

• Identify as a parent of a child with ASD ages 6-15
• Have access to a mobile device (mobile phone-iOS or android)
• Be willing to download the mobile app on their device
• Be willing to partake in two focus group interviews each for 45-60 minutes over the summer session
• Be willing to complete the end-of-study survey (approximately 20 minutes)
• English-speaking

Inclusion criteria

Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors leading the Adapted Horseback Riding sessions at Three Gaits Inc

• Have a certification (certified therapeutic riding instructor) from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Riding (PATH) Intl.
• Minimum 1 year of experience leading/conducting the adapted horseback riding sessions for children with ASD
• English Speaking