DaySteps is grounded in executive-function research. Not every design choice can cite a study — but the important ones can, and do.
Executive function is the set of cognitive processes that plan, sequence, and carry out intentional behavior — working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. It develops over years and is unevenly distributed.
DaySteps is not a treatment, a diagnostic, or a cure. It is a compensation tool — a calm external scaffold that makes up for what a child's internal scaffolding hasn't fully built yet. It's a therapeutic support tool that complements professional care, not a standalone clinical intervention.
The design choices — no streaks, no comparisons, no alarm-register colors, deliberate language — come directly from research on shame, motivation, and intrinsic regulation in neurodivergent children.
Working-memory research says visible queues of unfinished items consume the same attention a child needs to finish the current one. The child-facing runner shows exactly one step, never the full sequence.
Zelazo et al. (2017)Time blindness is a core ADHD feature, not a behavior choice. Concrete visual timers are a documented intervention. Every step has an optional one.
Barkley (1997); Zheng et al. (2022)Stress elevates catecholamines, which suppress the prefrontal cortex — the region responsible for executive function. No alarm-register red in child UI, zero punitive states, zero failure mechanics.
Arnsten (2009, 2011)Streaks, points, badges, and leaderboards spike cortisol and undermine intrinsic motivation. Completion feedback — immediate, competence-framed acknowledgment at task completion — is clinically distinct from gamification, and is what we use.
Clinical consensusDaySteps starts fully structured and reduces external support as the child demonstrates consistency — mapped to ABA prompting hierarchies. The goal is reduced reliance on the app, not permanent dependency on it.
Zelazo et al.; Greer (2002)Zelazo et al. (2017) identify autonomy support as a driver of EF development above and beyond general positive parenting. Children should experience the routine as their own tool — not a surveillance system imposed on them.
Zelazo et al. (2017)EF skills themselves can be a target of practice-based instruction… leading not only to improved EF but also to improved academic achievement.
Zelazo, Blair & Willoughby (2017) · IES / U.S. Dept. of Education
Michael has spent nearly a decade in healthcare strategy and operations across management consulting and value-based care, including roles at Deloitte and Wellvana. His work has spanned fundraising, clinical documentation programs, care-management implementations, and cost-reduction initiatives across health plans and primary-care networks — direct exposure to how clinical software is built, adopted, and used inside organizations that deliver care. He holds a BBA from the University of Iowa.
Michael founded DaySteps to bring that same level of operational rigor to a space historically underserved by well-designed clinical software: executive-function support for children and the clinicians who work with them.
Drew is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She holds a Master of Arts in School Psychology and a Master of Education from Columbia University, along with an advanced certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Her experience includes placements in New York City and Boston, several years as a school psychologist in Toronto — including work with the district's Autism team — and most recently a role in Denver supporting twice-exceptional students. In parallel, she provides therapy to children and adolescents with ADHD, autism, anxiety, and mood disorders. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Denver, where her research focuses on curriculum development and equity in education.
As Clinical Advisor to DaySteps, Drew brings evidence-based perspective to ensure tools are grounded in research and effective in real-world settings.
Tucker is a golden retriever who lives by a strict daily routine: morning walk, breakfast, a very serious nap, park time and fetch, another nap, dinner, post-dinner greenie, pre-bedtime zoomies, and beauty sleep. Same order. Every day.
He is the most consistent DaySteps user — and a good reminder that predictable routines bring out the best in all of us.
We're building a short list of clinicians, researchers, and educators who review our design and product decisions. Credentials listed, relationships disclosed. Get in touch if that's you.
DaySteps is a routine app built specifically for children with ADHD, autism, and executive function challenges — and the adults who support them. It shows one step at a time with a visible countdown timer, so the child always knows exactly what to do next. Parents configure everything; children just follow along.
Neither. DaySteps is a compensation tool — a calm external scaffold for executive function challenges. It does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. It works alongside whatever clinical care is already happening, not in place of it.
DaySteps is designed for ages 3–21 — the full range pediatric clinicians work across. Ages 6–12 are the primary research anchor and design focus, but younger children can use Guided mode with a parent nearby, and adults can use the same app for their own executive function challenges.
That depends on where they are in their progression — and you control it. At the most structured level, Guided mode shows one step at a time with a symbol, a label, and a visible countdown timer. As your child builds consistency, you can unlock more: a checklist view, their own routine list, a calendar, mood and insights data, and increasing autonomy over their own schedule. Every level is a deliberate parent decision — nothing unlocks automatically. The child's view grows with them, at exactly the pace you choose.
No. A parent sets up the child's profile from their own account. The child accesses their routines through a separate, simplified view — no login required on the child's device once it's set up.
Yes. Two adults can connect their accounts and both access shared routines and child profiles. Either adult can edit routines, adjust settings, and view progress.
The family initiates every connection. A parent shares an invite code; the clinician or teacher enters it and the parent approves the exact scope of access — routines only, routines plus mood data, etc. — before any information flows. The connection can be revoked at any time from Settings.
No. DaySteps is designed to complement professional care, not replace it. Clinicians can recommend it as a between-session support tool. The data it collects — initiation latency, completion trends, mood patterns — is designed to be useful in clinical conversations, not to substitute for them.
DaySteps is COPPA-aware and privacy-first. Child data is never sold or shared. Family data stays within the family unless a clinician or teacher connection is explicitly approved by a parent. All data is stored on servers in Canada (Supabase, Canada Central).
iOS first. Android is on the roadmap. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know when it's ready.
Pricing is being finalized for launch. Clinician and classroom licenses will be available separately from family plans. If you're an early family, clinician, or school, join the waitlist — we're onboarding a small cohort before public launch.
Join the waitlist and select "Clinician" when prompted. We'll be in touch about the clinical early access cohort, which includes support for recommending DaySteps to families you work with.
We reply within two business days. Support and clinician / school inquiries go to different inboxes — pick the one that fits.
Questions about the app, account issues, feedback. hello@daysteps.app
Clinical, educational, and institutional use cases. care@daysteps.app
Media and partnership inquiries. press@daysteps.app