KeepCalm Project

The KeepCalm project expands on our previous work by editing and creating our app based on input from parents and teachers, and testing the app in the school setting. From interviews with parents, teachers, 1:1s/classroom assistants, and school administrators, we are gathering information to improve our app and evaluate its acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness. We will then move into testing our app on features such as heart rate specificity to challenging behaviors, meeting with our advisory boards, and testing and updating the app in school settings. The last part of our project will involve testing the app for usability, acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness, and preliminary effectiveness in field tests. You can read more details about our current project here:

RePORT 〉 RePORTER

Our current project, KeepCalm, is based on our previous research which showed that heart rate increases are an effective way to predict the onset of challenging behaviors. The design of the KeepCalm app (originally called the EMOtion REgulation [EMORE] App), has features to communicate children's stress to teachers via heart rate tracking, suggest the best emotion regulation strategies for that child, and provide a way to track which strategies are most helpful. We found that parents and autism support teachers rated this app as extremely useful for managing children's stress, and strongly agree that it could help prevent challenging behaviors in children with autism. Read more about our previous work here:
https://insar.confex.com/insar/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/35440

The KeepCalm Project is led by Dr. Heather Nuske, an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Nuske's research is dedicated to understanding how best to support individuals with autism manage their emotions and stress in community settings. Click on this link to read more about Dr. Nuske and her current projects:

Heather J. Nuske, PhD – Center for Mental Health Phone: (215) 746 6041 Email: [email protected] Publications: View NCBI link Heather J. Nuske, PhD Research Associate Heather Joy Nuske, PhD is a Research Associate in the Center for Mental Health. Dr. Nuske’s research is dedicated to understanding how best to support individuals with autism manage...