Alvin van Asselt, Yvette Roke
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.