Clinicians
More progress between sessions for clients with autism, and the data to show it.
Now enrolling new clinics for 2027 pilots.
Private, secure, and role-based
DESIGNED TO SUPPORT HIPAA COMPLIANCE
Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) available on request.
Where Ama fits
Support at every stage of care.
Before services
Families on your waitlist
Give families something useful while they wait for intake.
Practice for hard moments before the first session
Families arrive with a clearer picture of what’s hard
During services
Clients in active treatment
Keep the treatment plan working between sessions.
Works alongside ABA, speech, OT, and school teams
Practice and progress come back to your team
After services
Stepping down or discharged
Help skills hold after formal services taper or end.
Maintenance practice for skills your team has built
A clear handoff to families and school teams
For ages 5–22
Talk or type to interact
Access from any browser
How Ama works
From treatment plan to practice, and back.
Here’s what Ama does between sessions, and how it reports back to your team.
See Ama in action
Try what clients practice.
Tap through a short activity the way a client would. In practice, every activity is built from the goals and strategies your team approves.
What to notice
Read aloud
Stories can be read out loud, so early and non-readers can follow along.
Gentle feedback
Ama encourages and redirects, and never scolds.
Pictures for every step
Visual supports for each step, like the ones you use in session.
Then practice it
After the story, the client tries the skill in a short conversation with Ama.
Activity formats
Social narratives
Illustrated stories that walk through a routine or situation before it happens.
Conversations
Role-play with a character, like a coach or a parent, and practice what to say.
Guessing games
Playful games like 20 Questions that build turn-taking and thinking skills.
Scavenger hunts
Clients find things in the world around them and talk about them with Ama.
More on the way
New formats are in the works and will show up as they’re ready.
Have an idea for a new activity?
Tell us what your clients would love to practice next. We’ll let you know when it’s ready.
Generalization
Skills that show up outside the session.
Follow one target through a week. It’s taught in session, practiced at home and school, and starts showing up on its own, with every response recorded by setting.
Families and teachers add what they see, not just what Ama sees
Prompted and independent responses stay separate
Each note shows who saw it, where, and when
Safe and private by design
Your clinical team stays in charge.
Clinics need to know what AI does with client information. Here’s how Ama is built to answer that.
Encrypted in transit and at rest
On-device processing (in development)
Built on industry best practices for data security
Designed to support HIPAA compliance
Clinicians set the plan
BCBAs and therapists choose the goals and strategies. When Ama suggests targets, your team reviews them before they’re saved.
Conversations stay on track
If a client drifts off topic, Ama gently brings them back to the practice. It encourages and redirects, and never scolds.
Private from day one
Use initials or an alias for each client. Client data is never used to train models for other users.
Role-based access
BTs, BCBAs, families, and teachers each see only what their role needs.
Outcomes
What clinicians and families are seeing.
Early results from Ama’s pilots, and what people using it every day have to say.
Early pilot findings
In early pilots with learners ages 3–17, we saw encouraging gains in:
Verbal communication
Reading fluency and comprehension
Knowledge in select learning areas
Enthusiasm for practicing with Ama
Preliminary findings that will be evaluated through additional research. Ama is built with researchers, parents, educators, and behavioral health professionals.
Research supported by
Through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program
“Our kiddo keeps asking if he gets to talk to Ama today, he’s excited to engage!”
G
Grace
Behavior Analyst
“I love that it is so communicative and supportive for the team working to help a student learn!”
L
Laura
3rd Grade Teacher
“The built-in breaks are amazing. As a parent who’s tried it all, this is so motivating!”
J
Jeanette
Mom of Olive, 8
The R&D described here was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program award 2025-33610-45055 and contract 91990026C0028 to NarrateAR, Inc. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the USDA NIFA, IES, or the U.S. Department of Education.
Pilot program
Start with a pilot. Scale when it works.
We’re partnering with a small group of ABA and therapy clinics for 2027. Each pilot is shaped around your team, and its length and scope can change as your needs do.
Our pilot partners include
STEP 1
Demo
A short call to learn about your clients, clinical team, and what you need.
STEP 2
Kickoff
We agree on scope, timeline, and goals together.
STEP 3
Onboarding
A live workshop for your clinical team, plus a demo sandbox to practice in.
STEP 4
Check-ins
Regular check-ins with our team while clients practice between sessions.
STEP 5
Review
Look at practice and progress together, then decide what’s next.
Paid plans start at $20 per learner per month at early access pricing, with volume pricing available. Includes access for your clinical team and the learner’s family.
Questions from clinicians
About Ama
Guide every child toward a lifetime of independence.
That’s our mission. Here’s why we’re building Ama, the people behind it, and the professionals helping shape it.
Ama was created in Ames, Iowa, by Drs. Karri Haen Whitmer and Christopher Whitmer — parents who have seen firsthand how meaningful, consistent support can help their son, Ethan, thrive. Their family’s experience revealed a common challenge: skills practiced in therapy or school do not always carry naturally into everyday life, and important insights can become disconnected across families, educators, and providers.
Drawing on Karri’s work in neurobiology, accessibility, assistive technology, and inclusive education, and Christopher’s background as an aerospace engineer and EdTech entrepreneur, they built Ama to help close that gap. Their shared belief is simple: every child has extraordinary potential when families and care teams have the right tools to understand, support, and grow with them.
Built with the clinicians who use it
Ama is being created with input from Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), special educators, researchers, advocates, and parents, so what clients practice with Ama lines up with the strategies in their treatment plan.
Meet the team
The people building Ama, from our home base in Iowa.
Our funders and supporters
Ama’s research and development is backed by federal grants, the State of Iowa, and education and autism accelerators.
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Iowa Economic Development Authority
NewSchools Venture Fund
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