Strengthening Behavior and Social Functioning Among Persons with Autism Spectrum Conditions Using Artificial Intelligence and Behavioral Activation: Protocol for the Well-Being and Health for Loved onEs with ASD (WHOLE) Psychosocial Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Although a proportion of families and communities in low resource settings continue to provide care to loved ones with autism spectrum conditions, many of the affected persons remain undiagnosed and without access to proven therapies due to high treatment cost and cultural pressures, in particular. Use of conversational agents on mobile phones in combination with behavior activation home care may provide an innovative, culturally appropriate and affordable platform for strengthening behavior and social functioning outcomes, in addition to an opportunity for participation of the persons with autism spectrum conditions in the intervention development process. We aim to assess the effectiveness of an intervention that incorporates artificial intelligence conversational agent technologies and behavioral activation therapy techniques.