Stress Autism Mate (SAM) Junior app

The Stress Autism Mate (SAM) Junior app is designed to help young people aged 12 to 18 with autism spectrum disorder manage their daily stress. The core features of the app include:

• Stress monitoring: You're prompted to fill in a brief stress questionnaire 2 to 4 times a day, depending on personal preference. You set the time at which the first questionnaire appears, with subsequent questionnaires appearing at 4-hour intervals. You're given 2 hours to respond to a questionnaire. You get a reminder if no questionnaire has been filled in within 60 minutes after the first prompt. You begin the questionnaire by selecting 1 to 5 activities you've done during the past 4 hours and how you felt during them. This list of activities can be personalised. Next are 2 questions asking you whether you've felt positive and energised during the past 4 hours. After that there are 7 questions to measure stress levels, for example, Did you feel irritable? Were you worried? Did you have negative thoughts? or Did you have anxiety?. On average it takes 2 minutes to fill in the questionnaire.
• Stress management: Based on your answers, an algorithm calculates the amount of stress during the past 4 hours (no stress, a bit of stress, stress and much stress). SAM Junior then asks you if this score is in sync with your perceived amount of stress, offering you an opportunity to reflect on your stress levels. You're asked whether you wish to receive a stress-reducing tip based on your location (at home or not at home) and level of stress (much stress or lower). This stress tip is randomly based on a preset list that you selected at the first use of the app. You're able to change this list later on and you can also add your own stress tips. Examples of stress tips are ‘listen to music that helps you relax’ (when at home), ‘go on a walk’ (when not at home) and ‘do a breathing exercise’ (when under much stress).
• Stress patterns: The app shows daily and weekly overviews of your stress levels and activities.
• Journal: The app contains a dairy function for you to record your thoughts or feelings (optional feature).

Considering the specific communication needs for people with autism, SAM was designed to be easily customised. You can select different sets of colours for the feedback chart (eg, traffic light colours or different shades of blue) and  options in written text or emoticons are available for the multi-choice questionnaire.

Note, the app is currently available in Danish, German, English, French, Dutch, Ukrainian and Turkish.

For the complete app description, go to the app website(external link), Google Play(external link), App Store(external link) or, for a more detailed review, see reviews below.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Lauren Hill, Speech Language Therapist, Auckland
Date of review: April 2025
Platform: Apple
Version: SAM Junior: 2.1.4192
Comments: The Stress Autism Mate Junior app is easy to use and could be a useful tool to support you to recognise your stress level across the day and use tips to self-manage stress. The insights of stress levels over a week and activities which have been high-stress vs low-stress are useful for understanding stress patterns. If you're experiencing ongoing stress, the app would be best used alongside professional support from a GP, psychologist or other health professional.
Safety concerns: None.
New Zealand relevance: Yes