The app prototype for Independio was thought of and developed by Harvard University’s Extension School psychology graduate student Nicole “Niki” Mayer (class of 2025). Niki developed Independio as part of her master’s degree capstone research under the instruction of Harvard University Professor, Maxwell Krasnow.
As a full time behavioral support specialist and skill building specialist in Central Pennsylvania, Niki works on the front lines of offering support to the adult population of autistic and intellectually disabled adults. Niki felt that the current system of community service workers in Pennsylvania, was not as effective and as supportive as it could be for the growing demand for support services needed in the adult population of autistic and intellectual disabled adults. Throughout 2023 and 2024, Niki used a manual model (hard copies) of the features presented in Independio, and noticed that when there was a structure to guide the services she offered, the individuals she worked with made significant progress (see the Use Cases page for more details). Niki then wondered how much more progress the individuals could make if they had access to learning tools regularly in order to practice their skill goals when staff and/or caretakers are not present to help. Thus, Independio was born from Niki’s curiosity and the research available to justify her research question. The research for developing the prototype of Independio speaks volumes for the direction of growth and progress to come in the future with its use in Pennsylvania and beyond.
It is Niki’s hope to launch Independio in the Pennsylvania market first by late 2026 after small group testing concludes. The goals that will follow the successful use in Pennsylvania, is to make Independio available in other states, then available globally. Niki plans to add more resources and tools for additional professional roles, customizations for devices with users who have limited skills to utilize Independio effectively, and to create spin-off tools that work in other populations, including medical patients (i.e., multiple sclerosis, dementia, etc.), children and elderly populations.
As you review the prototype design for Independio on this website, note that Niki and other research assistants from Harvard and beyond, continue to research the features and usefulness of Independio within Pennsylvania and beyond. More features will emerge as current literature is reviewed, and updates will be made publicly available on this website.
